The Aftermath
by Grey-Rain-Cloud
Summary: 'He followed the noise, and came to what he was looking for. A red door. A bright red door. A crimson door. Apollo knocked three times. The scuffling froze. The door opened surprisingly quickly. The girl standing in the doorway had dark red hair, emerald green eyes, and pale skin. The girl looked to be about seventeen and was very very pregnant.'
1. How Apollo Met Adelaide

The Aftermath. 

Chapter 1

How Apollo Met Adelaide

_July 3rd 1998_

It was just before dawn, and Apollo was just leaving his mortal lovers apartment to drive his sun chariot across the sky. He liked his latest lover, Amanda Forbes. She had a nice sense of humor, was smart, believed that he was a god even though she couldn't see through the Mist, and had pretty hazel eyes. She understood that he couldn't be with her always and that their relationship would eventually end—probably with a child—and she understood that he couldn't be there when she woke up all the time. Truth be told, he had been planning on waking up beside her this morning, putting his chariot on autopilot, but he had had a feeling that he should get up.

And so he did.

Apollo had always gone with whatever his instincts told him, because he was the god of prophecies and it helped him know the future…sort of. Just because he listened to his instincts though, didn't mean that he knew what they meant until he was—figuratively—hit in the face with it. Right now for instance, he was walking as slow as possible for seemingly no reason at all. He kept glancing at the doors he walked by, feeling like he was supposed to be looking for something, but all of them were the same boring white, bland beige, or unmentionable brown. Not what he was looking for.

…whatever he was looking for.

Then he stopped. There was a scuffling noise, like a drunk person trying to pick up the keys they had dropped, and Apollo thought he heard a faint swearing. He followed the noise, and came to what he was looking for. A red door. A _bright_ red door. A _crimson door_.

Apollo knocked three times.

The scuffling froze.

"Who is it?" A faint voice asked, as if out of breath.

"Apollo, god of prophecies, knowledge, truth, music, healing, and plague." Well, he decided to just say it bluntly. And irritatingly cheerfully.

The door opened surprisingly quickly. The girl standing in the doorway had dark red hair, emerald green eyes, and pale skin. She wore a powder blue dress that looked like it had just been thrown on haphazardly, a pale yellow jacket, and plain black flats. She was holding a sleeping baby that couldn't have been more than a few months old with teal hair wrapped in a fuzzy red blanket that matched the door. The girl looked to be about seventeen and was very _very_ pregnant.

_Wait… teal hair?_

She raised a black eyebrow skeptically, "You serious? Because I don't have time to deal with bloody lunatics at the moment." Her voice was strained and her back hunched over.

"Of course I'm serious," Apollo replied, as if offended, "as the god of truth, it is impossible for me to lie." He smiled cockily, and was just coming up with a good haiku when the girl groaned in pain. That was when it hit him that she was going into labour. He paled, "Oh…"

"Yeah… oh…" she panted, "now, god of healing, would you mind getting me to the nearest hospital so I can give birth?"

Apollo, suddenly all business, nodded curtly. He walked into her apartment, absently taking note that it was bigger than it should be, picked up her bag that he assumed she had been trying fruitlessly to pick up before he knocked, and took her by the elbow. He walked her outside, hailed a cab, and helped her in before getting in himself.

The cabbie took one look at her sweaty face and swollen belly and drove as fast as he could. He hadn't even needed to be told where to go. New York traffic though, even before dawn, was a bitch.

"So what's your name sweetheart?" Apollo asked while waiting in traffic. He thought that maybe if he kept her talking it would distract her from the pain.

"Adelaide Potter," she said, then gestured to the teal haired baby she carried, "This is Teddy Lupin, my godson."

"My names James," the cabbie put in.

"What a coincidence," Adelaide forced a breathy laugh, "that was my father's name."

"Well, uhh…" Apollo tried to think of something to say, "your British; what are you doing in America? And why do you have your godson?"

Adelaide winced. Apparently this wasn't the best question—although it could have been because of the pain. "My boyfriend died. His mother and sister and one of his brothers blamed me—of course, they didn't know I was pregnant with his child—and I thought it would be nice to get away from some of the things that had happened there, not to mention the newspaper reporters stalking me, which would have just been worse when they found out I was pregnant." _Why would she have reporters stalking her?_ Apollo wondered. She took a few deep, stuttering breaths, "Teddy's with me because his parents died, and his grandmother was unable to take care of him. Are we just about there?"

"Just pulling into the drop off area, then you can go and call anybody you need and have that baby." The cabbie—James—said.

"Oh, yes!" Adelaide said as if just realizing something, "I should contact George."

They got out of the cab, paid James, and Apollo helped Adelaide into the hospital. Once they had gotten her a room, Adelaide had passed Teddy to him. When the doctor came in and tried to escort Apollo out, saying that only family was allowed, Adelaide said firmly, "I do not care if he is a Greek god, he is holding my godson, and will not leave this room." That was that—and though the doctor did look at her funny for calling Apollo a Greek god, he probably thought it was the pain making her talk nonsense. Apollo did have to wonder why _she_ had believed him so easily. _Maybe she could see through the Mist so it hadn't seemed that farfetched that a god would knock at her door?_

After hours of pain and screaming, the _babies_ were finally born. Yes, babies, as in plural, meaning _more than one_—apparently Adelaide had been surprised as well ("_What do you mean there's another one?!" She screamed. "Actually, it appears that there are _two _more." The doctor said. "Triplets?!"_) Evidently, Adelaide had not gotten an ultrasound or even gone to a doctor about her pregnancy, because: "I've been to the infirmary enough throughout my life to know that I hate going for medical check-ups." Then she looked at the doctor and said unconvincingly, "No offence." (She didn't appear fond of the man looking between her legs and telling her she needed to "push harder.")

Now it was over. Adelaide held all three of her children along with Teddy—whom she had reclaimed swiftly—on a pillow on her lap, propped up so she could see them. "I should have known that he would still be giving me surprises." Adelaide said to herself while staring at her children in wonder.

"Who?" Apollo asked.

She started, like she had forgotten he was there. "My boyfriend. Fiancé really," she showed him her left hand, where a simple ring resided. It was a white gold band that tapered, drawing your eye to the modest diamond in the centre. "Fred Weasley. He would have thought it to be a hilarious prank. Not only did he get me pregnant at fifteen, but with triplets." Her eyes got misty. "He would have been very happy."

"You're fifteen?" Apollo would have pegged her to be seventeen, maybe eighteen.

She shook her head. "I'll be eighteen on the thirty-first."

Apollo frowned. "Then how…?"

"You're a god right? I've talked to Thanatos, so I know that the Greek gods exist. So if you're a god, then you'll know about the witches and wizards, regardless that you don't have any here in America." Apollo nodded. "Well, I just froze the pregnancy until the war over there was over." He didn't have that much trouble remembering what it meant to 'freeze' a pregnancy—he was the god of knowledge after all—even if he couldn't dredge up the particulars. Basically, when you drank a specific potion—really obscure—and then almost exactly thirty minutes later—the more exact you get it, the more likely it was to be successful—you say a specific spell incantation, pointing your wand at where your uterus would be. It sounded pretty easy, and it was, but it died out and not many books still held the directions anymore because there was no need for anyone to freeze their pregnancy. Plus it was really finicky: sometimes it wouldn't stick, so you would have to go through the whole process all over again, and the potion ingredients were probably expensive.

_Wait…_

Apollo's eyes widened. "You're _that_ Adelaide Potter?"

"Yes." She sighed tiredly.

"Hey, didn't you say that you wanted to call someone? George?" Apollo decided to take a step away from the topic of her fame. The gods paid enough attention to the wizarding world to know the major events and not much else, and Adelaide Potter defeating Lord Voldemort was a major event.

Adelaide yawned, "Yeah… I'll do that tomorrow. He's Fred's twin brother." She explained.

"How'd you meet Thanatos?"

"I gave him back his Hallows."

"The Deathly Hallows?" Apollo laughed. "The ones he got 'tricked' into giving to the Peverell brothers?"

"Yes." Adelaide looked at him oddly—probably because he couldn't stop laughing. (Though he was considerate enough to do so quietly, making sure he didn't disturb the babies.)

"Thanatos was drunk when that happened. He was so plastered that he could barely see straight! It was surprising that he didn't just give them immortality." He kept laughing.

Addy—as Apollo decided he would call her—smiled. "I met him before that too, when I died, then he visited me when I moved here. That's when I gave them back."

"How are you going to take care of four infants?" Apollo asked, "What are their names?"

"I don't know." She answered his first question honestly, "I guess I'll just… do my best and hope I don't mess up. I like to think I've been doing an all right job with Teddy."

"Their names?"

Adelaide looked first to the two identical fiery haired boys, and to the oldest said, "James Sirius," then to the second born, "Frederick Severus." Then to the one girl, the youngest with raven black hair, "Lily Nymphadora."

Apollo couldn't help but admire Adelaide. Not many seventeen year olds could take care—or be willing to take care—of four children, one of them not even her own. Yet here she was, not even complaining about the fact that she'll have no free time, or whining about the fact that she was all alone in taking care of them, or looking at the children like they were taking something away from her. He had a feeling that Teddy, James, Frederick, and Lily would have one of the best childhoods ever. All because of their mother.

_

**Author's Note: So this is going to be really slow in updating, and the reason I'm even posting this much is because I would like some feedback. Not the mean kind where you basically say that you want me to change my whole story because you hate it with a passion. If you hate it, click off this page and don't Review, because I am not going to listen to mean comments and there is really no reason for meanness. For the people who are intrigued by this story, tell me what you liked about it; you can even give me ideas if you'd like, but don't tell me to "Update sooner" or say "Hurry up with the next chapter" because I don't know when I'll be updating. Anyway... hope you liked it...**


	2. The Dangers of Breaking and Entering

The Aftermath

Chapter 2

The Danger of Breaking and Entering—Minus the Breaking

_July 31__st__ 1998 (Around Midnight) _

She was asleep when the Caterwauling Charm was set off. It had been less than a month since James, Frederick, and Lily had been born and Adelaide had had a serious awakening in parenting. Teddy—dear, sweet, lovely Teddy—was a very good baby. He rarely cried, seemed to entertain himself by changing the color of his hair or skin—once he had turned his skin a beautiful coffee brown, and had given himself lime green hair—and was very loving in an adorable and heartwarming way. He reminded her of Remus. She had thought that she was sort of prepared for her own baby, and when that turned into three babies, she had thought, _well, three more Teddy-bears can't be _that_ difficult._

She had been so _terribly_ wrong.

Adelaide had made the mistake that all babies would be that easy, but the triplets were very different from Teddy—lovable, adorable, _easy_ Teddy. With James and Frederick—who had letters on all of their clothing so she could tell them apart—Adelaide knew that they would be just like their father and Uncle George. They were always together, and if you picked one up without immediately picking up the other, they would both start to sob. It was such heartbreaking sobs that the first—and last—time Adelaide did just that she started to cry with them. (She refused to acknowledge that she had been thinking of how George must have felt when Fred died, and that she wondered if they had done this when they were babies.)

With Lily, instead of being fussy like her brothers, she was needy and demanding. She didn't like it when she looked around and couldn't see Adelaide, and when this happened, she would start to sniffle, then whine, then cry, then sob, then burst into bloodcurdling _wails_! Adelaide would come as fast as she could, pick her up, and almost immediately Lily would quiet. It was as if Lily thought she would disappear. When Adelaide would try to put her back down she would grip her shirt so tightly in her tiny fist that it would take nothing short of pliers to make her let go. Adelaide always just kept holding her. (She had a feeling that this was what she was like when she was Lily's age, so she couldn't really complain much. After all, her mum would've had to go through this.)

Sometimes she longed for the days when it was just her and Teddy, but then the twins would giggle, or Lily would sigh contentedly in her arms, and she knew it was worth it.

That did not mean that she did not need her sleep.

She put the babies to bed as early as possible so she could go to bed as early as possible. This was usually around eight, so if she was lucky Adelaide would get to sleep until six o'clock AM, because Lily was a morning person apparently. Adelaide had just gotten the hang of putting them to sleep in a way that that made her able to sleep through the night. James and Frederick had to be in the same crib or else they would never settle down, and though Teddy was alright by himself, Lily couldn't sleep alone yet without having a panic attack, so she got put in with Teddy. Teddy didn't seem to mind. Then, the sure way to get all three of the triplets to conk out together was for Adelaide to sing. Not even lullaby's, she could sing the phonebook or even her History of Magic text and within five minutes they were sleeping—never mind the fact that Adelaide's singing voice was quite average, bordering on out of tune. (Teddy of course was asleep also, but he would have fallen asleep even if she hadn't started to sing—he liked his sleep, thank you very much.)

That evening, she had successfully put them all to bed by eight-thirty, then went to bed herself. She was asleep before she hit the pillow. And she was having a dreamless sleep, which was a rare and wonderful thing when she was violently awoken by the Caterwauling Charm she set up every night before she went to sleep—just because the war was over didn't mean that there weren't still bad people.

And just because the war was over and she had given birth to triplets did not mean that she didn't snap awake, grab her wand, go into the living room and fire spells before she had even identified the intruder. "_Aguamenti! Expelliarmus! Avis! Oppugno! Obscuro!_"

So, first the intruder was sprayed with water—obscuring their vision—then if they were holding a weapon it flies out of their hand—if not, they get blasted into the wall behind them—then birds appear and attack—successfully distracting them—and finally, a blindfold appears over their eyes, making them completely vulnerable. It might have seemed like overkill to some, but it was a precaution to Adelaide. And it was their own fault for breaking and entering!

It was a shame that the intruder was Apollo.

And that he wasn't _really_ breaking and entering, considering he had just flashed directly into her living room instead of breaking her door down.

"Whoa!" Apollo said from his sprawled position on the floor. He put a hand in front of his face. "I've gone blind! How will I drive my sun chariot if I'm blind? It's illegal!" He cried in mock-distress.

"Oh, hush." Adelaide canceled the Caterwauling Charm, called off the birds, and vanished the blindfold.

Apollo looked at her as if she was his savoir. "I can see!"

"Yes. Yes you can. Now will you tell me why you are appearing in my apartment in the middle of the night?" She asked. "You're lucky I put Silencing Wards around the children's room, or they would be screaming right now because of the racket you caused." The Silencing Wards only went one way: the children couldn't hear anything outside their room, but Adelaide was still able to hear if one of them started crying. (The muggle baby monitor worked wonders for when she was in a more deep sleep.)

"Happy Birthday!" Apollo said. He got up and went to hug her, but Adelaide pushed him away—he was still wet. "You didn't forget, did you Addy?"

Adelaide smiled tiredly, she had come to realize that gods—or perhaps just Apollo—didn't really think the way mortals did. Apollo didn't really think that it was the middle of the night and that she had been sleeping. Or that she was exhausted from taking care of four infants 24/7. But Adelaide found it difficult to stay angry at Apollo: he was always so earnest about everything. And the way he talked about his sister Artemis was so protective it always made her smile.

So Adelaide said, "I didn't actually. George is coming here tomorrow for a few days to meet his niece and nephews so we can celebrate it together. He just got time off for a visit and got permission for the international Portkey." She sat down on the yellow couch she had bought. It was extremely comfy, and the color was what she imagined happiness looked like. "You should come meet him. You could even bring along your sister."

Apollo's eyes lit up it a way that told her that he'd be there. "Is anyone else coming? Ron or Hermione?" She had told Apollo a lot about her life in England.

"No," Adelaide said sadly, "Ron still blames me for Fred's death, and since Hermione is with him, it would be detrimental to their relationship if she came out. She did send a letter though."

"Have you told them about Jay, Ricky, and Lily?"

"No," Adelaide said, "I don't want Molly or Ginny or Ron to come and give me the cold shoulder while doting on them. It would be unhealthy." She shook her head firmly, "If one of them ever reaches out to me, or if they come to their senses, then I would gladly have them in the triplets' lives." It was weird, because Fred's death was one of the few that she didn't blame herself for; they—Fred and her—had done everything they could to make sure that he was as small a target as possible, to the point that only George knew that they were together since Adelaide's fourth year after the Yule Ball. Adelaide did not control the explosion that had killed Fred at the Battle of Hogwarts, but grief did peculiar things to people. (Adelaide was really just thankful that George had never blamed her for his twin's death.)

Apollo nodded, and like always tried to steer their conversation to something more cheerful, "I got your birthday present." He announced.

"Really?" Adelaide was taken aback, she had not expected Apollo—a _god_—to bother about her birthday. She hadn't expected him to remember the day, and certainly hadn't thought that he would go to the trouble of getting her a present. "You didn't have to do that Apollo."

Apollo looked quite offended, "Of course I did!" He didn't explain further. It was as if his needing to get her a present for her birthday was a fact of life. Adelaide decided to just go with it.

"Alright then, what is it?"

Apollo grabbed her hand and pulled her up and off the sofa. Bewildered, Adelaide just let herself be led to one of the empty rooms of her apartment—she hadn't had the time to fill all of the rooms, or even unpack all of her boxes. Though it wasn't as if she had much stuff, it was mostly books that she had cleared out from the Black and Potter properties that she had inherited and now had time to read, or the many photos and photo albums she had acquired. Apollo opened the door to the empty room with a flourish, and what Adelaide saw made her gasp.

The room wasn't empty any longer. There was a beautiful grand piano in the centre of the room, much too big to have gotten through the door or up the elevator. "How did you make it fit?" She asked dumbly. She could have done it with a shrinking charm, but Apollo wasn't a wizard.

"I," Apollo stated grandly, "am a god."

She could have hit herself.

Adelaide walked over to the instrument as if she were gravitating towards it. She stroked the keys, and noted absently that they all had a miniature golden sun painted on them. "I remember what you said about your aunt, about how the only kind thing she ever did was—" Apollo was saying.

"—force me to go to piano lessons, because every proper lady needs to know how to play at least one instrument—"

"—but the real reason was that the next door neighbors daughter was taking piano lessons, and everybody was raving about how good she was, and your aunt wanted to one up them, but your cousin refused to take the lessons himself." He finished.

Adelaide thought back to her piano lessons. Her teacher had been Ms. Maryanne. She was short and plump, middle-aged and grey-haired, but what had most stood out were her eyes. They were big and brown, reminding Adelaide of a doe, and sad like one of those abused puppy's on the television commercials. Ms. Maryanne had lost her husband and both of her children in a car accident years and years ago, and she had never really recovered. When Adelaide had told Ms. Maryanne that her parents had died in a car wreck when she was a baby—as the Dursley's had told her when she was younger, despite the fact that her parents had been murdered in an effort to save her life—the first thing Ms. Maryanne had said was, "At least it had not been you that died while your parents survived. They are more at peace knowing that you lived, and that you could grow up, even if they were not there to see it." Of course, Adelaide had been about five when she was told this, so she didn't understand, but the words stuck with her, and when Adelaide looked in the mirror now, and she saw a little bit of the same sadness in her eyes that Ms. Maryanne had always carried, she understood what Ms. Maryanne had meant. It was made even clearer now that she had Teddy, James, Frederick, and Lily.

Ms. Maryanne's heart stopped in her sleep just after Adelaide's fifth year at Hogwarts. Just after Sirius had died.

Adelaide blinked quickly and shook her head. "And the suns are there because…?" She grinned, because she knew exactly why they were there: Apollo would want to put his own stamp on everything, even presents. He had a peculiar obsession with it, like a teenager carving, "Apollo was here" or whatever their name might be, into their desk at school, no matter that when the teacher sees it they'll get into trouble.

"So you remember that you are playing on a piano that the god of music has given to you." He responded with the expected answer. "But…" he said mischievously, "I also got you something else." He pulled a thick book on Greek Mythology out of thin air. "If you're going to hang out with a Greek god, you gotta know _about_ Greek gods, and you, dear Addy, are sorely lacking in that area."

Adelaide groaned. She had never liked reading overly much, she certainly didn't inhale books and facts like Hermione did. Though she had been better since she had been out of school—which was very opposite to what you want, usually—because reading was one off the most relaxing things that she did nowadays. She had still been avoiding Greek Mythology though, because the little that she knew about it suggested that it was a complex web of worshipers that were cursed, demigods dying, and incestuous relationships—though Apollo had helpfully pointed out that it wasn't really incest because gods and goddesses didn't have DNA.

She took the book anyway, placing it on the piano bench for the time being, then used a Hot-Air Charm on Apollo to get rid of the water still soaking him. Only then did she hug him. "Thank you." Normally she wouldn't accept a gift so expensive, especially when she had only known the person who gave it to her for less than a month, but there was really no arguing with Apollo.

"I like your outfit by the way." He commented.

Adelaide had been sleeping in some of the clothing that she had bought here in New York. It was one of the few non-maternity things that she had at the moment. It was a nightgown, gold with black trim, and quite short. She honestly couldn't remember why she had gotten it; the thing was short and uncomfortable, and the silky material freaked her out because when it was cold it felt slimy. It did look good—and would look even better when she lost the pregnancy poundage—but the next time Adelaide went shopping she was going to buy some nice flannel and cotton, and then shove this monstrosity to the bottom of her dresser, never to be seen again.

She snorted and whacked Apollo on the chest. "Tomorrow at twelve," Adelaide said through a yawn, "that's when George is arriving."

"Right, noon." Apollo nodded and looked to be adding it to his mental calendar. "See you then." He looked about ready to leave when Adelaide spoke once more,

"Oh, and Apollo?" She said in a pleasant sort of voice, "If you come here in the middle of the night again, the first spell coming from my wand will be the Castration Hex."

Apollo just laughed, and then he was gone.

Adelaide started to leave the room to go back to bed, but she paused in the doorway, looking back at the piano. She went back to the instrument, sat down at the bench, and started to play softly. She was rusty from not having played since fifth year, and it showed. The melody was broken, a stuttering mess, and before she knew it she was crying, her tears splashing on the keys and blurring the suns into something indistinct and unattainable.

She thought about Ms. Maryanne and Sirius. Her parents and Teddy's. She thought about Fred.

She couldn't figure out who she was crying for.


	3. Adelaide Meets Artemis

The Aftermath

Chapter 3

Adelaide Meets Artemis

_August 1__st__ 1998_

George was bloody excited to see his twin brother's kid. He would start grinning like he hadn't since Fred had died while just wondering if it would be a boy or a girl—his family was starting to wonder if he was right in the head; they never said anything out loud, but he _knew_ they were thinking it… he was _not_ paranoid. He had wanted to be there for the baby's birth, but he had a business to take care of. Besides, Adel could probably use some time to settle down, now that she had two babies to take care of. In her letter, Adel had been very evasive; she wouldn't tell him the gender, or what the kid looked like, _or_ the name she decided on, only saying that it was to be a surprise.

So yeah, when George finally got his international Portkey and appeared right in the middle of Central Park at noon—wearing muggle clothes thankfully—he barely even paid attention to the fact that there were muggles that had just seen him appear out of nowhere, holding one of those cheap wands that muggle magicians used—that was the Portkey. While the muggles shook their heads with glazed eyes—the Mist in action right there, not that George was aware of that yet—he hailed a cab, which turned out to be surprisingly hard, and listed of the address he had been given by Adel in one of her letters.

It was a good thing Adel was waiting for him in front of her apartment building, because somehow George had forgotten about getting US muggle money for his trip and was therefore unable to pay for his ride. Adel paid the driver with no problem, and as soon as it sped away, she launched herself into George's arms. George hugged her back just as tightly. It had only been a few months since he had last seen her, but George had missed her terribly. She was one of the two who he thought were just as crushed as he was about Fred dying, the other being Percy. His mother was devastated of course, but she had never really known Fred that well, despite the fact that she was his mother. She just had never understood why they joked around and played pranks all the time, or why their joke shop was so important to them when they could get a secure and cushy job at the ministry. Percy, however unlikely, was the other because he completely blamed himself. There was no way in Percy's mind that the death of Fred wasn't all his fault, no matter what anybody told him.

"So," George said when they parted, "are you going to tell me if it was a boy or girl?" He looked her over. The last time he had seen Adel she had been getting pretty big around the middle—not that he would ever say that to her—and it had been surprising how quickly her stomach had grown. She had been one of the lucky pregnant women that had almost no morning sickness—though that was made up for with backaches—and had not started to show until the twenty-fourth week, or sixth month, of her pregnancy, which was when she had found the way to freeze her pregnancy in one of the books in the Hogwarts library. The most unfortunate side effect to freezing her pregnancy when she had was that it made for constant backaches for about two years, which was made worse with the fact that she had to be so active and not let on that she was in pain. George had no idea how she had done it, but he supposed that she had had Fred to complain to, and Fred had also said that he was getting really good at back massages. But when she had unfrozen her pregnancy right after the Battle of Hogwarts, she had blown up like a balloon in two weeks—with the help of George, who she had been staying with, because he kept feeding her huge meals—and it had also only taken those two weeks for her to decide to move to America after the funerals which she had worn a loose robe to hide her bulging belly and a hood to obscure her face into something unrecognizable.

Now, she was more recognizable as the girl who his brother had fallen in love with. Her long and messy dark red hair was pulled into a single braid that went down her back, her green eyes—while still sad—were brighter then George remembered, and her stomach, for obvious reasons, had now deflated. She wore plain jeans with a baby monitor strapped to them and a green shirt, the only jewelry being the engagement ring that Fred had saved up for. "You look brilliant," George commented.

Adel let out a small laugh, "I look exhausted." She did, having black circles surrounding her eyes, but that didn't mean that she didn't look better then she had when he had last seen her.

"Color suites you," he said, referring to the green of her shirt.

She shook her head at him, "The complements are not going to work on me," she said teasingly, "you're just going to have to wait a whole elevator ride and short walk to my apartment in order to find out the gender."

She took his hand and led him into the building, into the elevator, and then to the door of her apartment. "Did you paint it yourself?" George grinned.

Adel huffed, "It is a beautiful red!" She opened the door.

Her place was nice. The walls were a light blue, it was spacious, and the yellow couch—while not technically matching—was amusing. It was still bare, but bookshelves had been put up and filled, which made the packing boxes easier to ignore. There was a purple rug. He stared at it. Adel noticed.

"It's really soft," was all she said. George just nodded; he had a good idea of why she would go with so many contrasting colors. He had been in the Dursley's home before, and everything had been very bland and boring and normal, and subconsciously Adel was making her own home—because the Dursley's home had never been _her_ home—as different as possible, to assure herself that her children—yes, Teddy was her child now too, along with the biological one—would never grow up in the same environment as she had.

George knew that Adel would never treat her children the way she had been treated as a kid. She was as different from her relatives as one could get, but if this is what she needed to do for her to know that too…well, he might have to get her some hot pink furniture.

"Are you taking me to the kid now?" He asked impatiently as she pulled him into a bare blue hallway to a pristine white door that had letters on it that George couldn't make sense of: TR, JS, FS, and LN.

"Yes." She opened the door, and what George saw made his jaw drop and his eyes protrude disturbingly. That was when Apollo arrived, as well as his guest.

George couldn't stop staring at the four babies in front of him. One was Teddy, his hair a forest green color, eyes golden, with a smattering of freckles on his nose. It was the other three that he didn't know. The two identical boys had red hair that looked like a combination of Fred's and Adel's, with blue eyes that were exactly like his; exactly like Fred's. The lone girl had black hair, green eyes, and reminded George strongly of Adel.

He thought maybe his brain had short-circuited, because he couldn't think of anything to say and he couldn't bring himself to move yet.

"Adel?" George asked.

"Yes?"

"There are two extra."

Laughter came from behind them, and when George turned he saw a seventeen year old male with golden blond hair, sun kissed skin, and blue eyes. He was the one laughing. Beside him was a twelve year old girl with auburn hair, peculiar eyes that were silver-yellow like the moon, and wore silver clothing. She had a smirk on her face, looking amused. They hadn't been there before.

"Apollo," Adel greeted the man, "and this must be your sister. It's an honor to meet you Lady Artemis." Adel bowed. George gaped.

The little girl—Artemis apparently—said, "It is also _my_ pleasure to meet a woman who is not fooled by my brother's charms."

Apollo didn't appear to take insult, he just sauntered closer to George, stuck his hand out and said brightly, "You must be George. I'm Apollo, Greek god of the sun, and this," he gestured towards the girl, "is my little sis, Artemis, goddess of the moon and maidenhood and stuff."

"I am _not_ your _'little sis'_" Artemis said angrily, "I helped give birth to you!"

George fainted.

Apollo turned to Adelaide. "You took that much better than he did." He commented.

"Of course she did," Artemis scoffed, "she is not an idiot male."

"Hey!" Apollo pouted.

Adelaide intervened, "He's just had a lot of surprises in the last couple of minutes." She coughed slightly, remembering George's face when he had seen Lily, James, and Frederick. "He just needs to have things explained to him." She took out her wand to _rennervate_ George.

After a half an hour of explaining to George about the gods, and how they were actually real, then being introduced to his nephews and niece, Adelaide was finally able to relax. George and Apollo had gotten along brilliantly—which made up for the fact that Artemis kept shooting him dirty looks. Now George was holding both Frederick and James (_"You can't split them up," Adelaide warned while handing both the boys off, "or they'll start bawling."_) and sitting next to Apollo on her yellow sofa talking about whatever boys talked about—Adelaide suspected that it had something to do with George's missing ear, considering Apollo was staring at it and George was pointing at it. Adelaide had conjured a forest green loveseat for Artemis and herself, having not actually bought anymore seating yet. She was holding Teddy, who had the end of her braid in his mouth—his hair today was bubble-gum pink, reminding Adelaide of Tonks, while his eyes were the same emerald green as hers. Artemis held Lily, who she had immediately zeroed in on. Probably because Lily was the only girl.

Lily seemed very content in Artemis' arms, which Adelaide supposed attributed to the fact that she was the goddess of childbirth. Though occasionally Lily's eyes would drift to where Adelaide and Teddy sat close by.

"Where does Lily get her black hair from?" Artemis asked curiously.

Adelaide smiled a bit. It had struck Adelaide as peculiar that Lily would get her father's black hair when it had passed by her, even if Adelaide's hair was darker than her mum's had been. "My father, James."

"You named one of your son's after your father." Artemis observed.

"Yes, James Sirius. Sirius was my godfather and my father's best friend. I think they would be ecstatic to know that their names were put together." She looked wistful. "I also named Lily after my mum and Teddy's mum. Lily Nymphadora."

"What happened to them?"

"My parents died when I was just over a year old; they were murdered. Sirius would have taken care of me, but he was sent to prison on false charges and without a trial. He was framed. He escaped prison the summer before I started my third year. Died at the end of my fifth year. Nymphadora Tonks—she absolutely hated her first name, so just about everyone called her Tonks—she and her husband, Remus Lupin, who was also a best friend to my father and godfather, both died in battle only a month after Teddy was born."

Artemis stayed pretty stoic on the outside, not one to share her emotions, but she was thinking that it was remarkable that this woman had been through so much and was still functioning. Not many mortals that she had known could go through that much tragedy and come out standing, not to mention sane. She had lost her fiancé, which Artemis knew would send many women who were led astray by men into grief, but Adelaide hadn't. Aphrodite was always saying that having a man in one's life was important to mortal women. Artemis wished that she had come across Adelaide when she had still been a maiden.

"Were there no others to take care of the boy?" The goddess asked, gesturing to Teddy. At that moment, Lily started to whine, and immediately Adelaide plucked her right out of Artemis' arms, and plunked Teddy there instead. The whining stopped immediately. Artemis was left awkwardly cradling a baby boy in her arms. It had seemed so natural to hold Lily, but with the boy Artemis was tense. Teddy didn't seem to care; he looked right up at her and changed his hair to the exact same auburn as hers and matched his eyes with hers. His skin even changed to the same pale moonlight as hers. Artemis, almost against her will, felt her heart melt. She could almost imagine that this was her own son. Although she had many sisters and even brothers, she had never had a child of her own. She never would either; she didn't plan to and nor did she really desire one, but for the first time she found herself almost understanding why the gods and goddesses had their demigod children—even Athena, who was a maiden goddess but was able to make her brain children when 'meeting' her mind with a mortal.

"He does that."

Artemis almost jumped, but reigned herself in—she was the goddess of the hunt damn it, she would not allow herself to be startled! She turned to Adelaide, who was looking at her with a mildly amused expression. "Hmm? Does what?"

"Makes you love him in seconds. And to answer your question: he has a grandmother Andromeda, who is Tonks' mother. It was very hard on her though, the war. She lost her husband, who Teddy is named after, her daughter, who had the same talent of changing her appearance as Teddy has, and her son-in-law, who Teddy has a remarkable resemblance in manner to. If she were to take Teddy in, every day and every time she saw him, she would be reminded of precisely what she didn't have anymore. She asked me to take him, and I said yes." Adelaide explained. She was going to give George some photographs of Teddy to give to Andromeda, because she didn't want her to not know her grandson at all, but Adelaide would not force her to see him if she didn't feel up to it. She sort of understood where Andromeda was coming from: Adelaide had needed to separate herself from the place, but Andromeda needed to separate herself from the people—she wanted peace and quiet.

Artemis didn't say anything more, preferring for silence partly, but also because she wasn't sure how to respond to that. She watched her brother and the red-haired one-eared man she had already forgotten the name of. She understood why her brother had begged her to come, so much so that she had given in if only because she wanted him to shut up and leave her alone. Artemis had thought that she was being forced to visit one of her brothers mortal lovers—of which she had no desire to—but she could see with the way Adelaide and Apollo interacted that they were only friends. She found herself wondering how they came to meet, so she asked.

"I was going into labour," Adelaide responded, "and he helped me to the hospital. He was the perfect gentleman, I assure you."

Thunder sounded through the room, accompanied by a brilliant flash of lightning seen through the window. The triplets looked on with wide eyes; Teddy started crying. "He doesn't like loud noises." Adel explained and took him in her arms, making soothing noises while occasionally humming.

Apollo and Artemis both stood. "Father wants us for something," Artemis said. "Thank you for inviting me into your home."

Adel smiled at her, "It's no problem really. If you or your huntresses ever need somewhere to stay or just want to visit, you're always welcome."

Artemis snapped her fingers. "Your gift is in your room." Then she was gone.

Apollo waved, "See ya soon!" and was gone just like his sister.

Adel and George put the babies down for a nap, and returned to the living room, sitting on the sofa. George's head was swirling with new information. First, Adel had had _triplets_—which was hilarious and pitiable at the same time—second, she had made friends with a _god_! "You never do things small do you Adel?" He asked rhetorically.

Adel snorted, leaning on his shoulder tiredly. George wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she yawned hugely. "I got you a present." He whispered.

"What is it?" She whispered just as quietly.

George reached into his pocket and brought out a velvet box, the kind you get jewelry in. It was long and wide and black. Adel gasped quietly. "George…"

"No. None of that 'you shouldn't spend so much on me' nonsense. You're my sister and I got you a present. Deal with it."

Adel laughed and took the box gently, as if she was cradling the world in her palms. "Thank you." She opened it, and there was an oval locket made of sterling silver with a single rose design in the middle. She opened it to see a picture of her and Fred when they were about to go to the Yule Ball, their first date. She wore a simple pale green knee length dress made out of flowing material, and Fred looked handsome in black. They were both smiling in a combination of shy and ecstatic. George had taken the picture, and he had been teasing them relentlessly.

Adel swallowed a sob, "Thank you," she repeated.

George took it out of the box and fastened it around her neck. "Only one side is taken up so that you can put a picture of the kids in beside the two of you." His voice seemed oddly choked.

"I got you a present too." Adel told him quietly.

"Adel, it's not my—"

"I'm getting my fireplace connected by Floo," she ignored his protests, "just to your place, so you can visit whenever you want without having to buy an international Portkey. You are their uncle, after all."

There were very few instances in his life that George Weasley couldn't think of what to say. This was one of them. Gratitude expanded in his chest, his lungs constricting with it. He swallowed very hard. "Go to sleep Adel. When you wake we'll take the kids to the park for a bit."

"Hmm." She hummed, already half asleep. Her head slid down to his chest and her small arms encircled his waist and squeezed tightly. George imagined it was very easy for her to forget that he wasn't Fred. After all, when he looked in the mirror sometimes he forgot too.


	4. Chance Encounter for Christmas

The Aftermath

Chapter 4

Chance Encounter for Christmas

_December 25__th__ 1999 (3:00 AM)_

She woke up in a cold sweat, a scream on her lips, heart stopping in fear, with the phantom pains of the Cruciatus Curse. Her own shrieks of dream agony lingered in her ears, as did high pitched laughter and the thump of dead bodies. First her dad, then her mum, then Cedric, and finally her own. Ghost faces flashed before her eyes and the whispers of unquiet spirits egged her forwards while pulling her back. Her nightmares had stopped having just one scene. Now it was a combination of all the horrific things that had happened to her. But it always ended with two words that were hissed, and she was looking at herself when saying it. _Avada Kedavra_.

Adelaide got out of bed, putting on her fluffy white bathrobe over her red and black checkered flannel pajamas. She put the baby monitor in her robe pocket and slipped out her apartment, careful to lock the door and put up wards so no one would get in and no one would get out without her knowing instantly. She went to the elevator and travelled to the ground floor, where she walked out of the building and onto the snow-covered streets of New York for some fresh air.

That was when she noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes—thank the gods for warming charms.

Adelaide was just breathing in a deep breath of icy air when she noticed two young teenagers walking down the street towards her, both huddling in their too-light jackets. The boy had sandy blond hair and appeared to be a bit older than his companion. Said companion was a girl with short black hair, a pale face, and a small freckle spotted nose. They both looked exhausted, and dirty, and Adelaide immediately knew that they were either street kids or runaways. Either way, she couldn't leave two children in the cold knowing she had a perfectly warm home with room for them, especially on Christmas.

"Excuse me," Adelaide said when they got closer. They immediately took a fighting stance, looking so suspicious of her it was as if they expected her to eat them. They both had blue eyes, but of different shades: the boys were a soft blue, while the girls were dark and electrifying. "You shouldn't be out in the cold like this; would you like to come inside and have something to eat? I could make you something warm."

The girls hand was inching towards a bracelet on her wrist and the boys was going for something inside his jacket. The boy opened his mouth to speak, but Adelaide beat him to it.

"I'm not going to ask about your parents or call the police—ahh!" The boy had lunged forward, holding a bronze dagger, and attempted to bury it into her chest. Adelaide almost had a heart attack, thinking that she was going to be leaving her four children alone parentless just like she had been. Thankfully the dagger just passed through her without doing any harm. She was gasping quietly in panic when the boy pulled back abruptly, startled. He looked sheepishly towards the girl, who was groaning and cursing.

Adelaide did her best to recover her wits, "I won't call the p-police or child services, as I'm s-sure you have a good reason for living the way you d-do." She took another deep breath, imagining all of her panic leaking away through her pores. She tried to slow her heart rate. "Would you like to come up?" She asked faintly.

The boy coughed, "Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you." The girl put in.

The ride up was quiet and awkward. Awkward because the boy had tried to kill Adelaide when she was offering them somewhere to rest and eat freely and quiet because what were you supposed to say after that? When they entered her apartment Adelaide immediately ushered them into the kitchen and sat them at her dining table. It was open concept, so while Adelaide was in the kitchen cooking, she could still feel like she was in the same room as the teenagers—and keep an eye on them. They both fidgeted like it was impossible for them to keep still as Adelaide made bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and whole grain toast for them, as well as some hot chocolate.

She loaded up two plates when she was done and set them in front of the two teens. They looked at it with wide eyes, as if they had never seen so much food before. All of their suspicion seemed to fly out the window or crawl under a very large rock for the time being as they started to stuff their faces. Adelaide got their hot chocolate and her own tea, then sat down to watch them eat. They were both skinny. Not as skinny as she had been at their age, but like they weren't quite getting enough. They both needed a shower, with their greasy hair, dirty faces, and smelly bodies.

Adelaide sipped quietly on her Earl Grey tea until they were done and had relaxed against the chair back behind them, gulping down their now pleasantly warm hot chocolate. "What are your names?"

They both jumped slightly. "Luke Castellan." The boy said warily.

"Thalia." The girl said shortly, then stared Adelaide strait in the eyes, as if daring her to ask for a last name.

Adelaide only nodded and smiled warmly. "My name is Adelaide Potter. How old are the two of you?"

"Eleven." Thalia said.

"Thirteen." Luke said, "We're not imposing are we? Because we can leave—"

"Oh no," Adelaide interrupted, "we celebrated Christmas yesterday so there's nothing to worry about. And I'm nineteen." Adelaide offered. She noticed their drooping eyelids; the way their heads were nodding wearily. "Would you like to take a nap before we get to know each other better?" She nearly sighed when they both snapped to attention and shook their heads. Of course they wouldn't feel safe going to sleep in a stranger's home. That's when they're at their most vulnerable. "Well alright, but let's at least move into the living room where we'll be more comfortable." She sat them down on her couch and said, "You just relax. I'm going to wash the dishes."

She washed the dishes the muggle way, because that's what she grew up doing, so it was a bit before she came back into her living room, and what she saw made her smile triumphantly. They were both sound asleep on her obnoxiously yellow sofa, curled into each other for warmth. They had even taken their shoes off in order to put their feet up. Adelaide went into a hallway closet and brought out a warm quilt, spreading it over the two sleeping teenagers.

Sure that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep herself, Adelaide got changed into some sweatpants and a tee-shirt then went to exercise on her treadmill. When Artemis had come to Adelaide's birthday last year, just before she left she had given Adelaide a gift. That gift being the treadmill. It really was a very practical present too, because Adelaide didn't get to go out that often, so she didn't get much physical activity. Now, whenever Adelaide woke up from a nightmare she would run until she was either feeling like her legs were made of jelly or it was time to have a shower before waking her children up.

Thalia opened her eyes to see four curious faces staring back at her. And they were poking her cheeks. "Luke." She hissed.

Luke woke and jumped. "What the f—"

Thalia slapped a hand over his mouth, "No cussing in front of the children!" She scolded.

The little black haired girl opened her mouth, "Mama! Stinky people are up!"

Then, as if that was a silent cue, they all scattered into where Thalia remembered the kitchen was from earlier. Thalia and Luke both sat up. She glanced around the room. There were a lot of books, so this was definitely not her kind of person; and the colors were way too bright. A yellow couch? Purple rug? Green loveseat? And if she remembered correctly, the front door was red. Thalia preferred black. _Maybe blue_, she thought, looking into Luke's eyes.

"Stinky people?" Luke asked incredulously, "Were we just insulted by a midget?" Then he sniffed his armpit unashamedly, "Plus, we don't smell that bad right?"

Thalia raised a skeptical eyebrow, knowing full well that she smelled like shit and Luke smelled worse.

"Good morning." The British woman she and Luke had met earlier—Adelaide Potter, Thalia remembered—walked into the room. She wore her shower-damp red hair in a single braid, a pair of blue jeans and a red knitted sweater that was much too large on her with a gold 'F' in the center. She was pretty, Thalia could recognize, and her emerald green eyes were stunning. They were identical to the little girls she was holding, the one that had called her and Luke 'stinky people'. The three other munchkins were trailing behind her—the identical twins and teal haired kid.

Then the teal haired kid tripped over his own feet and fell forward. His hands took in the impact, but Thalia remembered when Jason fell like that and would start crying. It was more out of shock than pain. Just as Thalia had suspected, the kid started to whimper and big fat slow tears made their way down his cheeks. Adelaide Potter put the little girl down and picked up the crying boy.

"You're fine, Teddy." She soothed, "It was just a tiny fall." The kid—Teddy—calmed down remarkably fast, but still buried his face in Adelaide's shoulder. The little black haired girl pulled on her mother's pant leg impatiently, reaching up in plea to be picked back up. "I'm holding Teddy right now Lily. You must wait your turn." Adelaide said calmly.

Lily crossed her arms and pouted stubbornly, and probably would have thrown a tantrum, but the other two boys—the red headed identical twins—sandwiched her in a hug and she started laughing.

Thalia watched all this admiringly. She remembered how stubborn Jason had been at points, so for this Adelaide woman to be able to take care of four toddlers to the point where they're actually helping her was amazing.

"I thought you were nineteen," Luke blurted.

Thalia groaned in embarrassment.

Adelaide laughed, "I am."

"But—" Thalia elbowed him before he could say anything else.

"Would you mind if I used your shower?" Thalia asked hopefully.

"Of course not," Adelaide said, "I've laid out some of my old clothes for you, and for Luke I put out some of my brothers clothing in the bathroom. You can go first Thalia. If you go down the hallway, the one door that's open is the bathroom. Luke, you can go after Thalia."

Luke nodded, and Thalia walked as fast as she could without running to the shower. Thalia barely paid attention to what the bathroom looked like; all she saw was a sink, toilet, and a bath-shower combo. After that she stripped and blasted the hot water while using the grapefruit scented body wash that probably cost a bomb liberally, as well as the citrus shampoo and conditioner. And she actually got the dirt that had been under her nails for what felt like a year out. When she stopped the water—making sure that there was still enough hot left for Luke—and stepped out of the tub onto the cold tiles she snatched a fluffy floral towel from the counter by the sink and dried off.

Then she finally gave the bathroom a good look.

Green walls and white porcelain. There was a basket of kiddie toys by the tub: rubber ducks, toy boats, and foam bath animals that absorb water. There was nothing on the counter, but there was a medicine cabinet. Thalia fastened her towel under her armpits and opened it—hey, just because she could respect the woman didn't mean Thalia had any qualms about snooping. Four little toothbrushes and one adult sized toothbrush, mint toothpaste and the bubble-gum flavored shit that was safe for kids to accidentally swallow, and some weird vials. They said stuff like Wound Cleaning, Dreamless Sleep, Pepper-Up Potion, Skele-Gro, Blood-Replenishing, and Calming Draught. There was even a small container of yellow paste that was labeled: Burn Healing.

_O-o-kay_, Thalia thought, _so she's one of those herbalists who make their own homemade concoctions. Nothing wrong with that._ She closed the cabinet and went over to the pile of girls' clothing. It was a simple pair of black jeans and an equally black tee-shirt—Ms. Potter had obviously noticed Thalia's preference in colors… to not have them. Thalia almost smiled. Balling up her dirty clothing, Thalia walked out into the living room and stood there awkwardly. Luke and Ms. Potter were sitting on the couch talking, Ms. Potter having both the twin boys on her lap, while Lily and Teddy were lying on their stomachs on the purple rug with a picture book in front of them. Ms. Potter looked up and smiled, "Good, you're done," she noticed the dirty clothes Thalia was carrying, "just put your those in the hamper outside of the bathroom, same with you Luke when you're done."

Thalia nodded. Luke stood up and started walking down the hallway, Thalia following. "So?" She asked quietly once they were out of hearing range.

Luke smirked and raised an eyebrow, "So, what?"

Thalia glared, "_So_, is she okay or not?"

Luke sobered, "She's great. She's exactly what anyone would wish for in a mom." His tone was bitter, but he tried to shake it off, "Look, just talk to her and you'll understand. I've already told her a bit—like how we're demigods and that I'm a son of Hermes—don't worry, I said nothing about who your dad was, that's your job." He paused, and said softly, "She's trustworthy, Thalia." Then he closed the door to the bathroom with her standing in the hallway.

_So Luke trusts her already,_ Thalia mused as she dumped her clothes in the hamper and walked back to the living room_. She couldn't be that bad then, maybe Luke and I could get a few free meals out of this_. Once Thalia was sitting where Luke had been previously on the couch, she got strait to the point.

"You know about the gods." She had never been one to beat around the bush.

Ms. Potter didn't appear startled by her bluntness, just kept stroking the heads of the twins on her lap. The boys were making faces at each other. "Yes, I've met Apollo and Thanatos."

"Who's Thanatos?" Thalia scrunched her nose.

"Personification of Death, son of Nyx and Erebus."

"Oh."

"So," Ms. Potter said, "if Luke is the son of Hermes, who is your godly parent?"

It was said so kindly, with only polite curiosity, that Thalia felt herself telling Ms. Potter. And then everything just began bubbling to the surface—she was only eleven after all—and before Thalia knew it she was telling Adelaide about how her home life was—though she did edit out Jason; that was still too personal—and her head was resting against Adelaide's shoulder, with the woman carding her fingers through Thalia's choppy black hair, the twins having joined Teddy and Lily on the floor.

Thalia marveled at herself. She had never been so open with anybody save Luke, and she felt somehow less burdened then before. She still felt heavy with life, like she had lived too long despite her short eleven years, but it was somehow more… bearable. Thalia thought that this might be what it was supposed to be like between a mother and daughter. Something she had never had with her drunk of a mother.

"Are they demigods?" Thalia asked when she recovered herself, gesturing at the toddlers.

"No," Adelaide said sadly and twisted a ring on her finger. An engagement ring, Thalia realized. "My fiancé, Fred Weasley, is the father of three of them: James, Frederick, and Lily. Teddy's my godson and adopted son. Fred and Teddy's parents all died." _And left you alone_, Thalia finished.

Teddy stood up and wobbled uncertainly towards Adelaide—his mum—and smiled in triumph when he didn't fall and Adelaide scooped him up. She hugged him close, his own arms going around her neck, and kissed his cheek. "Look at you Teddy! Before you know it you'll be running circles around James and Frederick!" Thalia thought it unlikely that Teddy actually understood what Adelaide was saying, but the enthusiasm made him giggle happily.

He looked towards Thalia and she saw that his eyes were the exact same blue as her own, but she could have sworn that they had been green before—or was it gold? Luke walked in, shaking his head like a dog. He wore too-big jeans that must have been held up by a tight belt, the pant legs were rolled up several times just so he was able to walk. He wore a sweater that was similar to the one Adelaide donned but smaller; it fit him pretty well actually, and was emerald green. Thalia had to swallow a laugh; she thought that the sweater must be one of Adelaide's old things, because someone with those long pants would not be that small in the torso. Luke didn't seem to notice that he was wearing a girl's sweater.

"Whoa!" Luke exclaimed suddenly, jumping back a step, "I thought Teddy's hair was blue-green before!" If Thalia hadn't been busy staring at Teddy in shock, she would have rolled her eyes: trust a guy to say 'blue-green' when they're talking about teal.

Teddy's hair had changed. His previously _blue-green_ hair had turned a sandy blond—the exact same as Luke's. His eyes still looked the same as Thalia's stormy blue, so the result left Thalia blinking furiously. He didn't _really_ look like Jason. He could just be another blond-haired blue-eyed baby, but Jason had also been a blond-haired blue-eyed baby.

"Well," Adelaide smiled mysteriously, "Teddy's always been special." Teddy beamed at her, obviously knowing what 'special' meant, and to show his affection turned his hair dark red and his eyes emerald green. He looked like Adelaide's biological child. For Thalia it was as if a spell had been broken, and she remembered that Jason was gone and wasn't coming back, just like she was never going back to her mom.

Adelaide had insisted they stay until the weather improved. There was never any doubt that they would leave, and Adelaide never tried to force them to stay no matter how much she obviously wanted to. Luke and Thalia did their best to help her out, which mostly meant entertaining Teddy, James, Frederick, and Lily. Adelaide almost always carried a camera around with her, and seemed almost desperate to get as many photos of Thalia and Luke as she could before they left for an undetermined amount of time. Probably forever.

Both the demigods got their own room and three meals a day and got to shower whenever they wanted. Adelaide bought them their own clothing, going so far as to buy Thalia the expensive combat boots that she had been eyeing but hadn't wanted to say anything. It was like having a mom, addressing all of their needs and making sure they were taken care of and comfortable without being spoiled. They met George as well, when he came through the Floo—Adelaide had given them the basic rundown on witches and wizards—and he always insisted on giving them some of his prank products, which they mostly used on each other. He was like a fun uncle.

At the end of January both Thalia and Luke started getting antsy. They didn't want to stay and put Adelaide and her children in danger, and knew that if they stayed any longer they were putting them in jeopardy—they were already pushing it by staying a month. So on February first early in the morning Adelaide saw them off with backpacks full of supplies and warm clothing.

It would be a long time before Adelaide saw them again, and when she did, they would be very different from the children she remembered.

_February 2__nd__ 2000 (The day after Thalia and Luke left)_

Adelaide tried to go on with life as usual. She woke up, ran on her treadmill, had a shower, woke up the kids, made breakfast, and made sure the children were entertained before settling down on the sofa with a book. She had recently started taking muggle books out of the local library, because all the books she had inherited and owned were spell or potions texts, and sometimes she liked a little fantasy. She couldn't focus though; her eyes kept drifting from the page to the framed photos that she had finally started putting up around her apartment. It was the most recent ones that her eyes lingered on though, the ones of Thalia and Luke.

Her favorite was the one from when the two demigods had attempted giving James and Frederick a bath. The twins had always had a love-hate relationship with bath time. Both boys always ran for it whenever they could, regardless of their state of dress and the fact that all Adelaide would do was pick them up and plop them back into the soapy water. When they actually got settled into the bath though, they had tons of fun. They threw bubbles and splashed water, giggling the whole time. This picture captured such an example of their bath time fun, and right there, caught in the crossfire were Luke and Thalia. Both of them looked like drowned cats.

The sound of her doorbell knocked her out of her daydreams. All four of her children looked up from their game—at least Adelaide thought it was some sort of game; it seemed to involve a lot of jumping and running around in circles, as well as throwing stuffed animals. "Mama?" James and Frederick asked in unison.

"Stay here," Adelaide told them, "I won't be long." Lily scowled childishly and reached her arms up, "Oh, alright sweetie," Adelaide acquiesced, then said sternly to the boys, "Be good."

Lily firmly settled on her hip, Adelaide opened her front door to see a man. He wore a dark blue pinstriped suit, had a beard of marbled black and grey, black hair, and his eyes… Adelaide knew those eyes. Though they were far more old and grim then the ones she had seen just the day before, there was no doubt who this person must be. Those stormy and electric blue eyes weren't very common after all, but even without that giveaway, the fact he smelled of ozone made Adelaide sure who this man was.

"Ms. Potter?" He asked commandingly, and it was so similar to what Thalia looked like when she was ordering Luke or one of the toddlers to do something it made Adelaide smile slightly.

"Just Adelaide will be fine, Lord Zeus." She said, "Would you like to come in? I could make you some tea."

Zeus nodded and walked right in, letting Adelaide lead him into the dining room where he sat at the table. Adel adjusted Lily on her hip and went to the kitchen to make the tea. She had become an expert at multitasking, like carrying a toddler and preparing beverages. Adelaide cleared her throat awkwardly, "Are you here about Thalia… my Lord?" Usually after the initial greeting, Adelaide felt comfortable enough to drop the 'Lord' or 'Lady'. She hadn't felt they were needed with either Thanatos or Artemis, and had never once called Apollo 'My Lord', which he had actually seemed to like. But with Zeus, for some reason Adelaide was uncomfortable. She found herself hyperaware of everything going on around her in a way she hadn't been since the end of the war. She gripped Lily tighter than usual, and strained to hear what was going on in the living room with Teddy, James and Frederick. She felt like she was in danger and while this was completely normal for her, Adelaide also felt immensely and fantastically outmatched.

She was in the presence on the king of the gods, and should tread carefully, for her children's sake—because Adelaide had a feeling that if she displeased this god even slightly, he would have no trouble blasting her whole apartment building and sending them all on a one-way ticket to the Underworld. Just in case, when Adel was passing by the bowl she kept out that held loose change on her way to give Lord Zeus his tea, she grabbed as much as she could in one hand and stuffed it into her jeans pocket. At least if her and her family did get blasted she would be able to pay Charon to get to the Underworld with her children.

For the first time, Adelaide found herself regretting getting mixed up with these immortal beings.

"Yes," the god said carelessly after a moment's pause. He took the tea Adelaide had prepared for him without a word of thanks, just a nod of his head as if dismissing a servant, and took a sip. He pursed his lips and put the cup and saucer down onto the dining table with a deliberate clatter. "How much do you want in recompense?"

She stared at him. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understand Lord Zeus." Indeed, Adelaide felt as the figurative gears in her head had frozen over and rusted beyond repair, so the spiders had gathered and covered everything in sticky cobwebs. "Recompense for what?"

"For taking care of my daughter, of course." He waved his hand and a check book and gold fountain pen materialized in front of him. He picked up the pen and flipped open the check book, looking at Adelaide expectantly, "How much do you require?"

Adelaide breathed out sharply through her nose. Her eyes blazed. She placed Lily on the ground gently, "Go play with your brothers sweetie."

Lily looked pleadingly at Adelaide, "But mama…" she whined.

"Go Lily," Adel told her sternly, "I'm sure Teddy will play with you."

At the mention of Teddy, Lily's eyes brightened and with only a small push from Adelaide she was walking clumsily to where her brothers and Teddy were.

"Well?" Zeus asked impatiently once they were alone.

"Nothing." Zeus raised an eyebrow skeptically, and the expression was the same one that Thalia used. Adelaide elaborated, "I don't want any money; I have more of that then I know what to do with. What I would like from you is a promise." She made sure to stay polite, even if she wanted to breathe fire, "I want you to keep her alive."

"We have Laws." Zeus said disapprovingly.

"I don't care," Adelaide said simply.

There was silence, the likes of which Adelaide had never experienced before, not even when she was waiting for the pregnancy test to show her if it was positive or negative. It was dense, like the fruitcake her aunt Petunia baked but nobody ever ate, and it swelled like a balloon being filled with corn syrup. Zeus didn't give anything away from his expression. He stared at her, his face unreadable, his eyes now a rainy grey. Adelaide was frozen where she sat, but she tried to keep eye contact and look adamant. As if she wasn't scared that he was going to kill her and her children.

"Very well." Then he stood and reached out towards her. Adelaide's breath stuck somewhere in her throat, but all he did was touch her lightning bolt curse scar. It tingled, and Adelaide knew without looking that it was gone now. Adelaide wasn't sure if that was his way of rewarding her by taking away her curse scar, or trying to disgrace her by taking away his symbol of power because he felt that she had been disrespectful and this was his way of showing his displeasure. He showed himself to the door.

Adelaide sat still for a long time, just breathing in and out and listening to the inane chatter and childish laughter coming from the living room. Then she stood and collected the cold cup of tea, dumping it down the drain.


	5. Loss and Gain

The Aftermath

Chapter 5

Loss and Gain

_February 14__th__ 2000_

Apollo hadn't visited since she had taken in Luke and Thalia for that short time.

Adelaide knew that he couldn't visit while she had demigods with her, but she had thought that he'd pop in maybe a day or two after. Now it was two weeks since then and there was still no sign of him and Adel was getting mildly worried—not terribly though: he was a god and could look after himself. But she suspected that there was a reason for his absence, so she would wait patiently for her friend.

The day had been going on like usual, and Adel was happy that she didn't have to deal with the whole Valentine's Day fiasco. She had never really been a fan of the day; what was the point of it? Adel didn't need chocolates, and she could conjure her own flowers, thank you very much. She was doing laundry when someone knocked on her door, and for a second she thought that it would be Apollo, but no: he would have just appeared randomly. He hadn't knocked since that first time.

When she opened the door, there was a man of average height with receding grey-brown hair, sallow skin, and hazel eyes. He wore a plain and official black suit, with a navy blue tie. His eyes were unfocused.

"Ms. Adelaide Potter?"

"Yes?" Adelaide leaned against the door.

The man pulled a small boy out from behind him. The boy was tiny, maybe six, with dark gold hair, a tiny button nose, and eyes that were the color of a cloudless blue sky. His clothing—a white shirt with a large yellow smiley face, dark blue jeans with ripped knees and tiny black Converse shoes that Adelaide thought were adorable—was much too light to be wearing considering the chilly weather. Adelaide's stomach dropped when the man spoke again in his almost mechanical voice,

"This is Michael Phoebus Yew. His mother was pronounced dead after a house fire. You were listed as his next of kin." He shoved a file into Adel's arms, "These are his papers. Good day." Then he walked away jerkily.

Adelaide and Michael just stared at one another for an undetermined amount of time. There was something tickling in the back of Adelaide's mind, like an itch on your palm, right in the center that in the end you had to bite to get it to go away. This boy—Michael—had eyes that were familiar to her… she knew those eyes…

"Miss Adel?" Michael's small voice piped up.

"Yes sweetie?" Adelaide felt almost as if she were in a dream that you couldn't wake up from, or at least a very powerful one. Like that _Alice in Wonderland_ cartoon that she had watched with the kids.

"The blond man said you were nice. Are you nice?"

"Of course, honey. Who was this blond man?" She had a suspicion, but she'd like it to be confirmed. It would explain why he hadn't visited…

"He said his name was Fred." Michael said, and Adel's face crumpled. She dropped the file and walked one stride to scoop up the little boy into her arms. He tensed at first, but then relaxed. Miss Adel hugged him like his mummy had before she had to leave. She smelled nice too. And her hair was pretty, like Ariel's from _The Little Mermaid_. "Are you a mermaid, Miss Adel?"

She laughed softly and kicked the door shut while carrying Michael into her apartment, "No, Michael, I'm not a mermaid. Are you?"

"No!" Michael said indignantly, shaking his head, "I'm a boy! I can't be a mer_maid_! And I don't have a tail!"

"I don't have a tail either." Adel pointed out.

"Yeah, but Ariel didn't have a tail all the time either, and she was still a mermaid."

"Ariel? Who's that?"

"She's from _The Little Mermaid_! Have you not seen it?" Michael asked this as if it was some great offence—to him it probably was.

"No, I'll have to get that one. Have you seen _Alice in Wonderland_?"

Adelaide listened to Michael list off his favorite movies and cartoons. She knew whose eyes Michael's so resembled. And his middle name gave away who his father was also—who chose Phoebus? And that the 'blond man' had said his name was Fred… Apollo had given his son to her to take care of after the death of his mother. It was an honor, and showed how much Apollo trusted her. She knew about the Ancient Laws though; Adelaide knew that when and if she ever saw Apollo again it would be brief. Adelaide thought it so very unfair to Apollo that she was going to get to see and witness all of the important milestones in Michael's life while Apollo had to watch on the sidelines, never truly existing in his son's life the way a father should.

_ Those Laws should be abolished_, Adelaide thought furiously. _Or at the very least changed so the gods can play a bigger part in their children's lives. Was it really so wrong to visit their kids?_

The fireplace roared to life, and George came through, startling little Michael so much he hid behind Adel. Almost immediately, before George even had time to dust himself off, James and Frederick came bounding into the room as fast as their tiny legs could carry them, followed by Lily and Teddy—Teddy kept tripping and Lily kept helping him back up—screaming, "Uncle George! Uncle George!"

Now Michael was clinging to the back of Adel's shirt, but she pried open his fists, swinging him in front of her and standing up in the same movement—she had become something of an expert at holding small children. Michael wrapped his legs around her middle and his arms around her neck, burying his face in her shoulder. George noticed him of course, after paying all four of the toddlers an individual welcome.

"And who's this?" He asked in what Adel recognized as his 'Kid Voice'.

When George had come through the Floo and seen two teenagers—Luke and Thalia—playing with his niece and nephews, he had been understandably shocked and even a bit hostile before Adel had told him that they were allowed to be there. Now, seeing a new child, he just asked who it was. There was really nothing that could shock him anymore when it came to Adel.

"This is Michael," Adelaide said, "Michael, this is your uncle George and your new siblings," she pointed to each of her children once Michael had raised his head to look, "Teddy, Lily, Frederick and James."

_November 2004_

Ever since James, Frederick, Teddy, and Lily had started going to school along with Michael, Adelaide had much more time on her hands. At first, she had had absolutely no idea what to do with herself, and she had wondered how in the world she would survive when they went to Hogwarts and camp. But then she tried to get herself busy, and she found that it was actually a bit nice to be able to relax in peace and quiet. Now, during the day after walking the kids to school, she had options of things that she wanted to do. Sometimes she went to the gym, or took some yoga classes. Other times she went through the Floo and helped George out with his shop. Recently, she had been going and sitting in the local library and reading whatever caught her fancy.

That was where she met Althea. Althea worked as the librarian, and she had long dark hair and wickedly intelligent grey eyes. She had come to ask Adelaide if she needed any help in finding something, and they just started talking. Now, whenever Adelaide came to the library, not only would she go home with a book Althea recommended—which were always good—she would get to socialize with an actual person her age.

Adel loved talking to her children, but there was a certain lacking in the intellectual aspect of their conversations. So Adel was thrilled to find that she could still carry a conversation with someone that was roughly her age. And Althea was normal! An actual normal muggle. Never did the topic of magic or Voldemort or her scar—which was now permanently gone, thanks to Zeus—and Adel found it wonderful.

She had been sort of friends with her neighbor, Amanda Forbes, but she had died in nine eleven, along with her unborn child.

Althea would usually be at the front desk when Adelaide came in, and would give that mysterious Mona Lisa smile before they went to some random section in the library. But she wasn't there that day.

Adelaide shrugged to herself; Althea was probably sick or had a day off.

Then she went about in her normal book picking business.

_January 26__th__ 2005_

It was raining something fierce. The wind screeched in rage, and the sea crashed ominously. The weather had been horrible lately, like the climate was seeking vengeance for a slight, but Adelaide knew better. Zeus and Poseidon were angry, most likely at each other.

Adelaide didn't think on it too much though. Not past getting her children raincoats and boots. She was too busy being worried about Althea. The librarian hadn't come back to work since that day back in November, and Adel had received no phone call, and there was no murder or missing person reports on the news. And Adel knew that if Althea went missing mysteriously then there would be some sort of man—_woman_—hunt, because Althea frequently talked about her father and her many siblings. She talked to at least one of them almost every day.

Adelaide had just walked the kids to school, and instead of going to yoga like she had originally planned, she had come straight home and was currently drinking hot soup from a mug while watching _Lord of the Rings the Fellowship of the Ring_ (she liked Orlando Bloom's character, Legolas, but that was probably just because he was pretty and sexy at the same time.) Her head was stuffy and her throat felt like it was bleeding—she was sick. Luckily the kids hadn't gotten it—yet. She had always had a crappy immune system though, so she wasn't surprised that when the weather decided to gift the mortals with a deluge of water that soaked and chilled to the bone that she got sick right away. She could have taken a potion, but she was actually trying to fight it off on her own, which had the potential to strengthen her ability to fight off sickness.

The Fellowship had just fought the Cave Troll and was now running from the Balrog when the phone rang. Adel automatically put the movie on pause, but didn't get up right away, just stared at the telephone like it was an Orc that declared that it was taking up ballet and Buddhism. Nobody ever phoned her.

Since Adelaide had moved to the city she had not gotten one phone call, which made sense considering how many people had her number: two. Adel had mailed it to Dudley, just in case there was an emergency, but she didn't expect him to be calling her—despite her being on better terms with him than with Petunia and Vernon, they were not exactly friendly, and the fact that she used the owl post to send him the letter was sure to put him off. The second and last person to have her number was Althea, but the librarian had never called her before, though maybe… Adelaide jumped up from the couch as quickly as she could, her head spinning dizzily, and rushed over to answer the phone, hoping that Althea was on the other line with an explanation to her prolonged absence.

"Hello?" She croaked.

"Is that you Adelaide?" A male voice asked. It was vaguely familiar.

"Yess…?" There was an implied, _and you are?_

"It's Dudley… I was wondering if you could come out… I'd like to ask you a favor and it would be better done in person."

* * *

Adelaide looked at the address and description of the building in London where her cousin lived. It was nice enough, and would be big enough, but it was quite dull. There was nothing striking about it. Adelaide thought that that was Petunia and Vernon's influence on their son, and to be honest, Adel worried a bit for Dudley's children. Would they be spoiled as he was? Or would they be treated as she had been? It was a concerning thought.

She walked in and rang his buzzer, and the door opened almost immediately. There was Dudley, with his lank blond hair and small blue eyes. He wasn't obese like he had been as a child and young teenager, but neither was he skinny. He was somewhere between heavily muscled and beefy. He wasn't what Adelaide would call attractive—though he was her cousin, so she wasn't a fair judge—but neither was he ugly.

"Oh, um, hi… Adelaide." She just knew that he was about to call her Potter like he had when they were younger, but had restrained himself. Whether it was because he had glanced at the ring on her left hand or he was trying to be as civil as possible so she would do him this 'favor' was unclear.

"Dudley, how are you?" She smiled politely at him. She was a much better actor than he was.

"Good, good, I s'pose," he said with a creased brow as he let her in. The place was just like the outside except messier and smellier. She was strongly reminded of Dudley's bedroom back when they both lived with Petunia and Vernon—and she knew quite a bit about_ that_ room, considering she was made to clean it. The walls were a respectably normal beige and the carpet a bland cream. The furniture was entirely different though: black leather. Adelaide knew that her aunt had hated leather furniture, whether it be chair or couch. The fact that Dudley had both in his flat must have horrified the woman. "And you?"

They both sat down.

"I have a bit of a cold, but I'm doing alright."

There was a long stretch of silence where Dudley picked at a bowl of crisps on the coffee table that he had obviously put out in preparation for her visit. He cleared his throat, "America been good to you then? You look better. Healthier." He winced at the last word; he knew exactly why she hadn't looked very healthy for the duration of her living with him and his parents.

Adelaide ignored that though, she had long since gotten over that—or as over it as she was ever going to be. "New York is wonderful, you should visit," it was a lie and both of them knew it, "I imagine I look better because I've been eating well and exercising," not to mention having triplets makes your breasts bigger. "I am curious though, why you wanted me to come? What is this favor you wanted of me?" There was a bit of an edge to her tone, telling him that she owed him nothing and the only chance of her doing anything for him was if she agreed with it.

"Well you see, it's very complicated."

"Simplify it then."

"Okay… okay, well. So I'd been in an on and off relationship with my fiancé—before we were engaged—and one of those times we were broken up, I had a fling with someone else, Angela Johns, and…" he looked conflicted, like he didn't really want to say what he was about to say.

"Do you need relationship advice? Because I'm not really the best person to ask…"

"Not exactly—" he was interrupted by a baby's cry, "—that…"

Dudley made no move to get up, but for Adelaide it was so instinctual now that she stood up and followed the tiny but powerful set of lungs by ear. She came to a small spare room that had a simple guest bed and side table. On the bed was a baby laid out on a blue blanket, the kind hospitals give to newborn baby boys. And indeed this boy looked as if he had just been born, maybe a day old.

She picked up the boy, holding him close to her chest. He made the same sound that the twins had made when they were hungry.

"His mother, Angela, died in birth," Dudley said from the doorway, "he was born yesterday."

"Oh…" Adelaide unbuttoned her shirt for the newborn, now knowing why he was so hungry. It took a little cajoling, but he finally latched on.

"Whoa! What'r'you doing?" Dudley asked incredulously.

"Feeding him. He's obviously hungry, and his mother isn't here to feed him." She said frankly.

Dudley averted his eyes, "You have a kid already then?" He sounded oddly hopeful.

"Five actually," her cousins eyes bugged out and she allowed herself a smirk. "I adopted two: my godson Teddy, and Michael, whose father entrusted him into my care after his mother died. Then there are the triplets—my birth children—James, Frederick, and Lily."

Dudley just about choked on his tongue, "Married then?"

"No. He died." She shook that off, focusing on why she was here, "You want me to take him. Don't you?"

"Yes." He said it as if he wanted to be ashamed, but wanted to get rid of the kid too much to genuinely feel it, "Monica—my fiancé—is away at her parents for a couple weeks, but I know if she knew about the boy that she'd break it off with me, and even if she didn't she wouldn't want to keep him. I would've gone to mum and dad, but you know how they are. Probably would call him a bastard or something for being born out of wedlock and shun him. I know it's a lot… but it's either you or an orphanage, because I'm not keeping him."

"Did you name him?"

"No. Didn't think I had a right to."

"Alright. I'll take him."

Dudley sighed, "Thank you. I can transfer money to you—"

"I'm not taking any money from you for this boy," Adel said to him. She thinned her lips into a straight line, looking stern. She felt like she was channeling McGonagall. "Because you are no longer his father. You will have no contact with him at all."

She was half hoping that he would try to protest, fight for the right to be in his sons life, but all Dudley did was nod fast.

She was disappointed in him, but she was also glad that the boy she held in her arms wouldn't be growing up in the environment that she had witnessed in just a short amount of time.

* * *

When Adelaide went to the kids school to pick them up and walk then home holding a baby, all five of them were understandably surprised.

"This is your new brother," Adel smiled at all of them. "His name is Simon Regulus." And that was that. The four younger ones still believed in the stork story about where babies came from, so they just assumed that while they were at school, Simon was dropped off. Michael though, who was turning twelve on the tenth of May, knew better. Though he didn't know the specifics, he knew that the stork thing was a load of crap. He wouldn't call her out on it in front of the other four, but once they were out to bed he would ask. And she would tell him. He would have to be going to camp soon, so he needed to mature, and for him to mature he needed to be given some responsibility. And though Michael knowing where Simon really came from wasn't a responsibility per se, it would show that she was trusting him with information, and he had a responsibility to keep that trust.

* * *

A month later and Simon looked like Adelaide's birth child. She had been giving him a specific adoption potion that was easy to brew but took thirty days to complete the results. She chose this certain adoption potion because it would substitute her blood with Dudley's but leave Simon's mother's blood and the featured he had inherited from her. Basically, Adelaide had to feed Simon three drops of the potion every day for thirty days. It took a while because a baby's system had to adapt and change, along with features, and it was safer and pain free if it took longer—that's why she didn't use the instant one; she felt no need to put Simon through any unnecessary pain. So after the month was over, Simon had minimal blood ties with Dudley, had a fifty-fifty chance of becoming a wizard because of her blood, and was now red haired with pale silvery-blue eyes as opposed to blond with silvery-blue eyes.

She completely forgot about Althea with all the work at having a newborn around again. She already loved Simon with all her heart.

_July 31__st__ 2005_

The woman listened at the door of the apartment. The sounds of children giggling and a man and woman's laughter were heartwarming, but she did not smile. The woman, who had dark hair and calculating eyes, crouched down in front of a basket that she had previously placed in front of the door. She reached into her jacket pocket and extracted a letter. She placed it in the basket, along with more formal—legal—papers, to add to what was already residing there.

It was a baby, with a small tuft of red hair and innocent grey eyes. The baby made a cooing noise and reached up with pudgy arms to the woman, but all she did was knock twice on the door, loudly to ensure that it was heard above the noise from inside, and disappear.

The woman reappeared on the fire escape looking in on the apartment where she had just left the baby. She watched as a smiling woman with rich red hair and clear green eyes, who was disentangling herself from four small children who all looked about six, stood up smiling and walked to where the front door was located. A blond boy who looked between ten to twelve—he was short for his age—followed her curiously.

Now the four six year olds—two red headed twin boys, a black haired girl, and a boy with indigo colored hair—crowded around the man, who looked very much like the twins but missing an ear. The man, whom was named George, was holding a baby whose hair was the exact same shade as the woman who had just gone to answer the door.

"That was a mistake, you know," the woman looking through the window heard a masculine voice say from beside her. She jumped and turned to glare at the man, her half-brother Apollo.

"What was that?"

"It was a mistake to leave the kid on the doorstep." His voice was oddly subdued, maybe even angry. It was so unlike him that the woman, Athena, found herself asking,

"And why is that?"

He smiled humorlessly, "You don't know anything about her do you? Besides her preference in books of course," he said mockingly.

"Of course I know of her," Athena said angrily. How dare this idiot suggest that she, the goddess of wisdom, knew nothing about the woman she had just had one of her demigod children with! "She is Adelaide Lily Potter, the most famous witch in the Wizarding World; she has three children, a godson, and looks after one of your spawn for you. Her three children's father died before they were born. She defeated the worst Dark Lord in history, was known previously as the Girl Who Lived and more recently, the Woman Who Conquered." She said this all quite smugly, showing off her knowledge of the woman that she had really only known for two weeks before she had disappeared and made one of her 'brain' children with the witch.

Apollo actually had the nerve to look at her in disgust as they watched Adelaide walk back into view reading the letter that Athena had left, and the boy that had followed her—Apollo's spawn—was carrying the basket that held the baby. Adelaide's face looked quite furious. "You don't know her at all. Addy _is_ the most famous witch in the Wizarding World, but did you know that she hates it? She has _six_ children, now seven because of you. James, Frederick, and Lily are her birth children; Teddy is her adopted son as well as godson; Michael—my son—she adopted after his mother passed upon my explicit request; and Simon, the youngest boy, was the result of her cousin having a fling and not wanting responsibility, and she adopted him on paper as well as in blood. Now the newest addition, who will be named Sofia Bluebell Potter, will be just as treasured as her siblings, whether they be blood or not, because that's how Adelaide is." Apollo looked at Athena hard to see if she was getting it, but for a wisdom goddess she wasn't very wise—in Apollo's opinion—so he knew he would have to say it in simple terms, "It was _unwise_ of you to leave Sofia on her doorstep like that because after Addy's parents were murdered she was left on the doorstep of her muggle relatives house in the middle of the night by a man she has not and will never forgive for the things he has done to the detriment of her life, with only a letter." His sister's lips were pursed unattractively in displeasure, and Apollo rolled his eyes, knowing it was a lost cause,

_"Get lost goddess,_

_Your wisdom is not wanted,_

_Selfish of them all."_

And she did leave, just as his haiku told her, after one last fleeting look through the window. Apollo stayed though, watching over his favorite mortal. If she had not been in love with Fred Weasely still—as she always would be—Apollo could have seen her becoming his wife and staying with him for as long as their immortal lives permitted.

But Apollo always had been unlucky with love.


	6. New Beginnings

The Aftermath

Chapter 6

New Beginnings

_October 25__th__ 2005_

Principal Davids was having a difficult day. Truthfully, he was having a difficult start of the school year. He had been a Principal for a long time—long enough for him to go grey and then bald—but he had just started at a new school. He was not told why the last Principal had requested a transfer, and though he would like to blame it on a certain group of trouble students, he knew he couldn't, because the two that had started this whole mess had only started at this school this year.

The two being Travis and Connor Stoll. They were twins, which, while not necessarily a bad thing, could be catastrophic if they were prone to mischief. The Stoll twins were. They were also problems in class, having ADHD and dyslexia. Davids was also sure that they were kleptomaniacs—he couldn't count how many teachers had come to him complaining that they were missing various valuables. These teachers all coincidentally taught Travis and Connor.

They were a bad influence too. There was another student, Michael Yew, in their year who had been—while having the same learning difficulties; ADHD and dyslexia—a very good student until he became friends with the Stoll's. Michael now played pranks with the twins and got into trouble with the twins. It was exhausting.

If that wasn't enough for Principal Davids to put up with, there had been several unexplainable incidents with the younger students… well, really only four of the younger students, but those four—Teddy Lupin, James Potter, Frederick Potter, and Lily Potter—pulled the other children into their nonsense.

There had been no reason to call the parents until today. It had been handled by the teachers by giving out extra homework, detention, and for the younger ones, being sent to the corner. Today had changed things. As soon as Davids had caught wind of what happened in the school yard at lunch he had ordered his secretary to call the parents of Stoll Squared, Potter Cubed, Lupin, and Yew. His secretary had set up a meeting at the end of the school day, and Davids had prepared.

He knew that parents usually were staunch defenders of their brats, so he had found that he had the advantage if he buttered them up. Davids set out some fruit flavored hard candies, pretzels, and bottled mineral water. While the four sets of parents got comfortable with their free food and drink, Principal Davids would start out with the—few—good things about their child's academic performance. The parents would smile at the praise and relax. That's when Davids would cunningly sneak in how terrible their brat was. Most likely starting with "…but…" and ending with "…so you understand that this meeting is only out of concern for your child. We just want (Insert Name Here) to reach their full potential."

Davids thought he was prepared for anything.

He was not.

It was about five minutes after school had ended that the first knock on his office door came, but before Davids could get up to open it, the person on the other side opened it themselves. Three people filed in to his office, two being the Stoll brothers and another being Davids assumed to be their mother. She was a tall woman with the same chocolate brown curls her sons had inherited, but that seemed to be all they got from her. Where her sons had sharp and devious features, Mrs. Stoll had a soft, innocent look about her with wide eyes, a small nose, and full lips, with a heart shaped face. She wore a white ruffled blouse and black slacks.

She turned to Davids with a smile, holding out her hand to shake, "You must be Principal Davids; I am Travis and Connor's mother, Alessa Stoll, and it is a pleasure to meet you." Despite being annoyed at having his authority undermined when she just walked into his office without being invited, he shook her hand, having trouble denying this beautiful woman anything.

"Pleasure to meet you as well Mrs. Stoll."

Alessa laughed lightly while her sons shared a conspiratorial look and smirked. "Just Miss Stoll I'm afraid." She didn't elaborate, and for some reason when Davids looked at Miss Stoll's sweet smile again it resembled her sons' evil grins. He shook the feeling off and gestured the woman to take a seat to wait for the other parents to arrive.

No sooner had Alessa taken a seat was there another knock at his door. This time Davids was able to say, "Come it!" in a voice that rang with authority and superiority.

Once again a woman came through the door. The first thing that Davids noticed was the baby she had strapped to her front and another's head peeking out from behind her shoulder. Then he noticed that she was holding what appeared to be a violin case and purse in one hand while the other clutched onto Teddy Lupin's hand. Unlike Miss Stoll, this woman's features were sharp: high cheekbones, a strait nose, and intent bright green eyes. She was short and slight, but her presence seemed to fill up the whole room. Davids squirmed in his seat a bit when her eyes focused on him. It didn't matter that this woman was petite and carrying two babies, she was still intimidating.

Her deep red hair was up in a high and tight bun, giving her a severe look, and when she offered her pale hand for him to shake her smile was razor sharp. "Principal Davids was it?"

He cleared his throat. "Er—yes. Yes. You would be Mrs. Lupin I presume?"

Her expression was peculiar when she answered. "No, I am Miss Adelaide Potter." Before he could stutter out his apologies, she continued, "You said that there was a problem with my children's behaviour that you wanted to discuss?" She gestured behind her, and when Davids followed it he was sure that his eyes bugged out. Behind Miss Potter were James, Frederick, and Lily Potter, and Michael Yew. Combine the fact that Miss Potter was carrying two infants and holding Teddy Lupin's hand meant that she had seven children. Davids bit his tongue to stop himself from saying something rude—like calling her a scarlet woman.

As the woman stared at him with narrowed eyes he got the feeling she knew exactly what he was thinking, so he hurried on to the main point. He had a feeling that he would not be able to butter up this woman; no manipulation to get her on his side would work. "Today at their lunch break the children went outside and there was a disturbance among the little ones," the four 'little ones' gave him a narrow-eyed glare that was a very accurate imitation of their mother's. "A garden snake was found on the field, and some of the children decided to poke it with a stick. James, Frederick, and Lily told them to stop, saying that they were hurting it. The children asked how they knew, and they said that the snake kept saying so.

"It's nonsense, of course. One cannot speak to snakes, but the imagination of a child is a wondrous thing. Well, a fight started between all the children. That attracted the attention of some of the older ones," Davids inclined his head towards Travis, Connor, and Michael, "who tried to break up the fight but ended up getting in the middle of it. Some of the other children's older siblings got involved, and well…" he spread his palms out in front of him, palms up, "…here we are."

Miss Stoll spoke first, surprisingly. "Why are we here then?"

Davids looked at her incredulously, "Your children were fighting!"

"The why are we the _only_ ones here?" Miss Potter asked with an eyebrow raised. "Because it sounds to me as if Travis, Michael, and Connor tried to stop the spat, and Teddy, James, Frederick, and Lily were trying to stop animal abuse."

Davids puffed himself up, opened his fat gob.

Potter held up a fine boned hand, correcting herself, "Sorry; they were trying to stop _reptilian_ abuse."

"Your brats are delusional!" Davids burst out, unable to reconcile being interrupted by a woman, "They think they can speak to snakes!" He rounded on the three older ones, "And you three are a menace to society! You should be locked up! Before you can do any serious damage!"

Miss Stoll stood, her previously docile brown eyes blazing "If you think that I am going to sit here and watch you verbally abuse children then you can—" Here she went into extensive detail about where he could shove his head, and many other colorful descriptions that had Miss Potter covering the ears of Teddy, Michael covering Lily's, and Connor and Travis covering James' and Frederick's.

"Now," Alessa Stoll recovered herself, "If that is all you had to drivel on about I think we'll all be leaving. Come along Connor, Travis." She ushered her children out of the Principal's office, Adelaide Potter following her lead. "Thank you very much, Mr. Davids, for wasting our time."

The last two to leave were James and Frederick, who looked back at Davids with anticipatory, gleeful grins before the door shut behind them.

Davids sat dejectedly on his expensive leather chair, staring at the treats he had set out forlornly. All his plans had crumbled in minutes because of two impertinent women—he reminded himself that this is why he had never married.

He had just reached out for one of the lemon flavored hard candies when a foul stench reached him. It smelled of public bathrooms, cow manure, and dung beetles.

Davids cursed.

_September 10__th__ 2005_

The first time Alessa Stoll met Adelaide Potter was brief. She was waiting for her boys in front of their school with all the other parents, the still summer-hot sun glaring down at her. The back of her shirt was sticky with sweat by the time Travis and Connor burst out of the entrance doors of the school at a run, a blond boy at their heels. Alessa was slightly surprised that the boy could keep up with Travis and Connor—their father was Hermes, so they were always the fastest runners. The blond boy split off from her boys, presumably to find his own parents, and her twins kept running towards her with big smiles on their faces.

The first thing they did was ask if they could go over to their friend Michael's house.

"I'll need to speak with his parents first," she said, secretly excited that her boys had made a friend, as they tended to get isolated by their peers, "so we can set up a time for me to pick you up."

Just then the blond boy, who Alessa assumed was Michael, came up to them, dragging a woman by the hand. The woman had an amused and pleased expression on her face, and Alessa got the impression that maybe Michael had trouble finding friends just like Travis and Connor. Michael's mother had her red hair in two braids, giving her a young look, and Alessa thought that this woman couldn't be over twenty-five, much too young to have a twelve or thirteen year old son. Alessa concluded that he must be adopted; they certainly looked nothing alike.

"I'm Adelaide Potter," the woman introduced, "Michael's mum."

"Alessa Stoll. Travis and Connor say that they would like to come over; is that alright?" Truthfully, Alessa was hoping that it would be; a break would be wonderful. And since Adelaide only had Michael, it wouldn't be too difficult for her to take care of two more for a few hours.

"Please mum," Michael begged before Adelaide could say anything, bringing out the puppy dog eyes.

"Of course they can come over, and since its Saturday tomorrow, why don't they stay the night? They would have to be picked up before noon though, because Michael has his violin lesson."

Travis and Connor gasped excitedly, staring up at Adelaide as if she was the coolest person they had ever met. Alessa was equally excited, already planning a relaxing evening for herself—a bubble bath, manicure, pedicure, some _wine_. It would be wonderful. "Yes; how about I pick them up at eleven tomorrow morning?"

Adelaide confirmed and gave Alessa her address, and they went their separate ways. If Alessa had looked over to where Adelaide was leading the boys—a tandem stroller being carefully watched over by four small children—she might have thought twice about loading off her two children to someone already with seven. She might have offered to have Michael over for a sleepover instead. But Alessa was too preoccupied with her thoughts; she was sure she had heard the name Adelaide Potter before.

_Well_, Alessa decided, _now I have a project for the evening. _She knew that if she didn't find out where she had heard or read the name before she would go nuts. _Maybe it's in one of those newspapers that mom and dad got from England; the Daily Prophet_, Alessa speculated.

Alessa would be paying her parents a call tonight—after her bath, while she had a glass of wine in her hand, of course.

_September 11__th__ 2005 (10:50 am)_

Alessa still felt a little blown when she knocked on the red door. She had spoken to _the_ Adelaide Potter and hadn't even noticed. The woman who had defeated Voldemort, the worst Dark Lord in history. Of course, Alessa didn't really know what the war back in England had been like. Her parents, Steven and Elaine Stoll, were both muggleborn and had moved to America as soon as they were out of Hogwarts. Alessa herself had never gone to Hogwarts—her parents had tutored her while she went to muggle school, as Alessa herself was doing with Travis and Connor. Elaine and Steven had kept their subscription to the Daily Prophet though, to keep in touch with what was happening in the Wizarding World, and would even occasionally take trips to England to buy new books or other magical items. Alessa remembers those trips from her childhood as some of her most joyful memories.

Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to bring Travis and Connor there—she didn't want to test her luck by flying there with Zeus, and the other ways cost quite a lot of money.

The door opened to a tired looking but put together Adelaide, and Alessa felt guilty for not offering to host the sleepover at her place. She knew that her boys could be rambunctious at best, and hyper at worst—came with having ADHD, Alessa supposed.

Adelaide was wearing a simple white summer dress with a tie at the waist. She was barefoot, and her hair was down. "Come in," Adelaide smiled despite the grey crescents under her eyes. "The boys are just finishing their breakfast."

When Alessa walked into the kitchen-dining room, her eyes widened impossibly. There were two babies in highchairs with the same red hair as Adelaide, four five to six year olds, Michael, and Travis and Connor. "Oh Lord," she breathed.

"Hi mom!" Travis and Connor said in unison, and waved.

"Good morning," Alessa turned to Adelaide, "They weren't any trouble were they?"

"Oh no," Adelaide looked at all the children fondly, including Travis and Connor, "they fell asleep at about ten-thirty."

"So they didn't keep you awake?" Alessa asked slowly, looking at the bags under Adelaide's eyes.

"No, they didn't keep me awake."

A thump came from the living room, along with footsteps. "Hey Adel, I've got the day off today so I thought we could do someth—" A red haired man came into the room, wearing robes and holding his wand to himself, getting rid of the dust on his clothing. He looked up and saw Alessa. "Oh… this is…" he looked at his wand desperately, as if it could provide a good excuse, "… just a stick. And I'm wearing… a Halloween… costume…." He winced, obviously knowing this was a pathetic explanation—especially when Alessa had seen the dust disappear.

"Don't worry," Alessa brought out her own wand, "I'm a witch."

Alessa turned to see Adelaide's reaction, but found her looking unsurprised. "Travis and Connor told me that they were wizards when they saw one of my spell books." She said simply.

The man coughed deliberately, "My names George Weasley."

"Alessa Stoll," she paused, looking him up and down, then said, "Unmarried."

George grinned, "Me too."

* * *

Adelaide smirked and went back to the table, letting Alessa and George have some time to get to know each other. After the break up with Angelina Johnson, Adel was happy that George was showing some interest in someone else.

She sat down and picked up a piece of toast, slathering it with blackberry jam, and caught what Travis was talking to Michael about, "…Camp Half-Blood is awesome! Some kids stay there year round, but me and Con only go for the summer. There are strawberry fields and arts and crafts and archery and a bunch of other activities."

"There's a campfire too, and some of the cabins sing. We roast marshmallows too!" Connor added to what his brother said.

"Can I go?" Michael asked eagerly

Travis and Connor exchanged glances, "Well, it's kind of exclusive…"

"Don't worry Michael," Adelaide smoothed down his flyaway hair, "I had already planned to send you there this summer."

Travis and Connor looked at her with wide eyes. "Really?" Michael looked up at his mum.

"Mmm-hmm," Adelaide hummed. "I think you'll like the campfire sing-along, since you have such a wonderful voice, and you might like archery—I think you'll be one of the best archers at camp." She looked at the Stoll twins meaningfully, and they nodded, their eyes still wide and excited.

Adelaide looked over to where George and Alessa were standing. George's ears were slightly red, and Alessa was grinning wickedly.

_July 1__st__ 2006_

Adel led Michael up the hill and towards Camp Half-Blood. She had left George and Alessa—who had already brought Travis and Connor to camp—with Teddy, James, Frederick, Lily, Simon, and Sofia, so she could be alone with Michael when she explained about his father. Michael had been angry at first that she hadn't told him that his father was a god, but when she explained that it would make his scent stronger to monsters and that it would make the likelihood that he was attacked greater, he had accepted it.

"Do you know who my dad is?" He was asking now.

"Yes." Adel wanted to tell him who it was, but she knew that she had to wait for Apollo to claim him. It was frustrating. "He brought you to me using the Mist to confuse mortals."

"He brought me to you?" Michael sounded awed.

"Yes. He broke the Law to make sure that you were safe."

"Then he must have cared for me," he muttered to himself, and Adelaide pretended not to hear. "You said that he had to claim me. When will he do that?"

"I don't know," Adel admitted, then looked at the sky, "but if it isn't soon then I'll kick his ars—butt."

Michael grinned at his mum, "You can swear in front of me mum, it's not like I don't already hear it and more at school."

"Shush you." She laughed.

They were at the Big House now, and Adel knocked on the door. When it opened a pudgy man with purple eyes and a sour face demanded, "What do you want?"

"Are you Mr. Chiron?" Adel asked in confusion. She thought that Chiron was a centaur.

"Do I look half horse to you?" The man asked rudely. "I am Mr. D."

"Oh yes!" Adel remembered what Apollo told her about one of the gods being punished at camp. "You're the god of wine!"

Michael looked at her like she was crazy, "This is Dionysus?"

"Yes boy, and what of it?" Mr. D growled, his purple eyes flashing threateningly.

"Excuse me," Adel said indignantly, "my son has just learned about the gods, so this is all very new to him. He doesn't need your attitude."

Dionysus seemed to ignore her. He looked piercingly at Michael, saying, "It's not hard to figure out whose brat he is. Looks just like all the other runts of Ap—"

Adelaide slapped him.

"You will not be the one to tell my son who his father is." She said frigidly, staring the god right in the eye.

She felt him in her mind, spreading insanity. But she clamped down her Occlumency barriers with a vicious snap, and he took a step back in surprise. Though she knew that he could easily shred through her Occlumency and infect her mind, he didn't. He looked at her with something as close to respect that he would probably ever get. "Who are you then?"

"Adelaide Potter, and this is my son, Michael Yew. We would like to see Mr. Chiron." Mr. D raised an eyebrow at her name.

"I am Chrion, child," a voice said from behind her. Adel and Michael both turned and saw a centaur. Before Adelaide could say anything a golden lyre hologram appeared above Michael's head.

"Apollo's my dad?"

"Yes," Adel smiled. "Why don't I get you sorted out in your cabin while Mr. Chiron explains thing to you?"

Michael nodded.

Chiron looked at her curiously as she picked up Michael's violin case, suitcase, and backpack. "Child, how did you cross the barrier?"

"I would assume it's because I'm a witch." Then Adel walked away, towards the cabin that looked golden in the sunlight.

* * *

Will Solace looked up from his guitar when there was a knock on his cabin door, "Come in!" He called, wondering who it could be. Certainly not one of his siblings—they would just open the door.

A red haired woman came in, laden with bags. "This is the Apollo cabin right?"

Will nodded dumbly. This couldn't be a new sister could it? She was too old for one, and two, she looked nothing like the rest of his siblings.

"Is there a spare bed for my son? He just got here."

Will pointed to the bunk beside him. "What's your son's name?"

"Michael Yew. I'm Adel Potter."

"William Solace."

There was silence. Will was still staring at Adel. He had never seen a parent of a demigod come into camp and get them comfortable. They usually said good-bye at the border. This was bizarre.

"Oh!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed suddenly, and Will started. She reached into the backpack she had been carrying, her hand going impossibly deep, and pulled out an intricately designed quiver, then handed it to Will, who was so stunned that he automatically took it. "I got one of those for each of your siblings. It holds many more arrows than appears possible."

"Th-thank you," Will stuttered. He would have objected to the present, but his mom had always told him to accept kindnesses and to thank them by passing on that kindness to others. And he really did need a new quiver. Plus, after he had just seen Mrs. Potter's arm practically disappear into a small backpack, he was inclined to believe her when she said that the quiver would hold lots of arrows.

"Can you play me a song on your guitar?" Adel asked with a warm smile, obviously trying to set him at ease. She picked the perfect way to do it, because if there was one thing Will was comfortable doing it was playing music.

By the time Michael entered Will was just finishing his second song, and Adel was clapping.

Will watched Mrs. Potter go and hug her son. She kissed him on the cheek and patted his hair down, ignoring the fact that Michael was blushing cherry red. She reminded him to IM her often and to give the other quivers in his backpack to his brothers and sisters. Then she left, saying good-bye to the both of them, and leaving Michael fidgeting in the middle of the cabin, his hands stuffed in his jean pockets awkwardly.

"Dude," Will broke the silence, "your mom's awesome."

Michael smiled, "Yeah, I know."


	7. Grief and Relief

The Aftermath

Chapter 7

Grief and Relief

_April 7__th__ 2009_

Teddy Lupin looked at all the varieties of animals in the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley, trying to pick out what he wanted the most. There was the cute kittens in the corner, ugly bulbous toads, and pompous looking owls. There were rats and rabbits and snakes. To tell the truth, Teddy had already chosen what animal he wanted, but he was terribly conflicted, because he had also chosen the animal that he _needed_, and they were two different things. The day before had been his birthday, and for once his whole family—Michael, James, Frederick, Lily, Simon, Sofia, and their mum—had gone through the Floo to Uncle George and Aunt Alessa's. Travis and Connor were already waiting for them by the fireplace, and as soon as Teddy had gotten through they had sprayed him with copious amounts of silly string. They had also charmed his shirt purple with lime green polka dots—which, to Teddy's eternal shame and his family's endless amusement, his hair had changed to match automatically.

Usually birthday parties were done at his home, but to Teddy's confusion, his mum had insisted that for his eleventh they go to Uncle George's and Aunt Alessa's. Teddy thought that perhaps it was because Aunt Alessa was getting so big in her pregnancy—apparently she was having twins again, which was hardly unbelievable considering the father had been a twin himself. Then during present opening a handsome tawny owl had come through the window, flown over to Teddy, and dropped a letter in his lap. (Then the owl had looked at his mum imperiously until she had paid him; he had flown off without a hoot of thanks, much to Teddy's disgust.)

His mum had looked at him in excitement. She had been wearing the proud smile she wore whenever she was looking at him or one of his siblings, the one that always made Teddy feel warm and reassured that he was good enough, and that she didn't love his siblings more than him just because he wasn't technically her son. When Teddy had opened his letter and found that it was his acceptance letter to Hogwarts he had stared at it in shock for a moment before whooping in happiness. His mum had told him that his letter would come when he was eleven, but he hadn't expected it on his birthday. It made sense to him now why his mum had insisted on coming to Uncle George's—imagine the flight the owl would have had to take to deliver him his letter!

Of course, then James and Frederick started to ask why they hadn't gotten theirs yet, and Lily looked over Teddy's shoulder to read what supplies they would all need for their first year at Hogwarts. Teddy had just asked his mum when they would be going shopping. She said the next day that she would take them all—Teddy, James, Lily, and Frederick—to Diagon Alley the next day to get all of their school supplies. Teddy had wanted to protest—he wanted to go shopping with _just_ his mum, and he was the only one who had gotten an acceptance letter—but as if his mum had read his mind, she told him that she didn't want to have to take two trips to buy the exact same things, and it would be much busier in the Alley when the triplets got their letters.

So Teddy had let it go; it did make a reasonable sense, it was only practical—and his mum was nothing if not practical.

Later that night, when Teddy was supposed to be sleeping but was unable to because of excitement, a terrible thought had hit him: he was going to have to leave his mum. He had never spent more than a day away from her; she was a constant throughout his whole life so far, and she wasn't like the other kids mums he had observed at school. She was easier to talk to and she answered his questions truthfully. She didn't keep secrets or try to shelter him from his parents' deaths. Sure, she didn't say all of the details, but those were things that nobody needed to know—Teddy got the feeling she wished that she herself was ignorant.

That was when Teddy decided that he would get an owl. It would be the easiest way to stay in contact with his mum, and he would just address the letters to Uncle George so his owl wouldn't have such a long flight. It was a great plan. It was a smart plan. There was only one _slight_ problem.

Teddy hated owls.

They were loud and messy and ungrateful and proud and stared at you as if you lived to serve them instead of the other way around. His mum had always talked of her late owl, Hedwig, with great fondness, and it had sounded like a wonderful relationship. Hedwig sounded affectionate and tolerant—though his mum had admitted that Hedwig had had terrible hubris and could hold quite the grudge.

Still, as Teddy was stared down by a fat brown owl that he was sure was scowling at him, Teddy couldn't see any commendable qualities in the birds, no matter what his mum said. Oh, he was sure that Hedwig had been amazing and he wished that she hadn't died—maybe then she could have persuaded him from being so put off by owls—but Teddy wanted something to cuddle with. You couldn't cuddle with birds.

Yet Teddy stood there still, looking straight into the bad-tempered owls round yellow eyes, trying desperately to find it within himself to like this… _thing_.

"How are you doing Teddy?" His mum startled him out of his thoughts. He turned away from the stupid bird thankfully. His mum was wearing robes, and it never failed to surprise him how seamlessly she could go from looking like a regular muggle to a witch who had been in the Wizarding world her whole life. Teddy always had to remind himself that she had had a life—a tragic, horrific, grief-filled life—before he and his siblings had come along.

Her robes were black, making her paler than normal. It also brought out the red in her hair. His mum had her hair down today, and she was constantly sweeping stray hairs away from her forehead. Every time she did this she would get an odd look of wonder on her face that Teddy didn't understand. His mum was also holding a little kitten in her arms. It was grey with a white patch taking up the entirety of its face. There were also patches of white on its paws. As Teddy watched, the kitten turned orange with black stripes, like a tiny tiger.

"Oh, where did you find him?" Teddy asked, and took the kitten from his mother's arms, snuggling the animal to his chest. The cat purred.

"It's a she," his mum corrected, "and I was talking to the owner about what species of cats they had, because I thought that you might like a kneazle, but when he showed me this little one I knew that you would like her. She was only recently delivered. She can change her fur into any color she pleases, just like you." She ruffled his presently-turquoise hair.

"A—a cat?" Teddy stuttered. "But I was thinking about getting an owl." Even as he spoke the words, he clutched the kitten tighter. She licked his chin.

"Why would you do that?" His mum looked at him in concern, "Teddy, you hate owls."

Teddy spluttered something about wanting to be able to write to her, wondering if he had really been that transparent.

His mum nodded, "I've got something for you." She reached into her handbag and pulled out a black book with his initials, T. R. Lupin, on it. She handed it to Teddy. It was a nice leather journal, but Teddy had never been one to write about his day. His mum's lips twitched when she saw the look on his face, "It's a start of school present I've been working on for you, Frederick, Lily, and James for a while," She started to explain. "When you write in that book it will also appear in mine," here she pulled out an identical journal but it had her initials, A. L. Potter, instead. "And I can write back to you."

Teddy looked at his mum in shock. He knew that his mum was a brilliant witch, but she didn't use magic that much unless it was necessary or she was feeling lazy. Once, when James had been eating too fast and started to choke she had cast _anapneo_ which unblocked his throat and stopped him from choking—then as a lesson she had made him look up the charm and write ten instances for when the charm would be useful. James had whined at first, and to spite his mum, he wrote down ridiculous examples, like if he accidentally tried to swallow an elephant but it was going down the wrong way. He had ended up having so much fun that he went overboard and wrote twenty possibilities instead of ten. When he gave it in to Adelaide, she had kissed his forehead and taught him the Levitation Charm. (James ate at a much more sedate pace now.)

Then there was that time where Michael was packing for camp and she had simply wave her wand, without speaking, and everything had folded and packed itself.

So yeah, Teddy knew that his mum was a good witch, but these journals seemed like some serious and complex magic. It made Teddy want to learn how to do things like what his mum did. It made him want to understand magic. Teddy wondered where she had gotten the idea for the journals; he concluded that it must have been the Marauders Map that had inspired them.

He looked down at the little cat he was holding in relief. He wouldn't have to get a stupid owl like he thought. "Thanks mum."

She looked at him warmly, touched his cheek lightly. "You're welcome. Just remember to write." She paused, "And don't tell your siblings; I want it to be a surprise when they get theirs."

A thought hit Teddy. "Will they be able to see what we write to each other?" He loved his family, but he liked to have some privacy, and he found that with his mum and their talks. Like when she tells him about his dad and birth mum.

She laughed, "No, love. I have separate books to connect with them. It'll just be us."

He sighed. Thank the gods.

"Now let's go see what your brothers and sister picked out."

Lily, as it turned out, was having trouble deciding between a black rat that danced, a fluffy white rabbit that kept changing into a silk top hat and back again with a loud popping noise, and a small turtle with a jewel-encrusted shell that glittered in the sunlight streaming through the window. "Not the rat Lily," mum said firmly—a voice she didn't use that often—and Lily obligingly set the rat down with its companions, where it huffed and started to skip rope with its own tail.

She also set down the turtle.

"Okay," Lily said. That was what Teddy liked about Lily the most: she never pried. She knew that her mum must have a good reason for not allowing the rat, so she did not protest. No doubt she would ask later why her mum was so against it, but she did not make a scene like most kids would by demanding answers.

James had picked out a long blue-black snake with smooth scales. He carried it around his shoulders and was speaking Parseltongue to it like they were already best friends. Ever since James found out he could speak to snakes he had become obsessed with them. He read books about different species, went out of his way to look for them at school on the field—always coming back empty-handed, but smiling from his latest 'adventure'—and whenever they were at the mall he would beg to be able to go to the pet store so he could talk to the snakes in the reptile section.

"She's an Indigo snake," James was saying, "She says her name is Zeta. Indigo snakes are non-venomous."

His mum looked at him, then turned to Zeta and started hissing a conversation. At first Teddy had been jealous that he wasn't a Parselmouth like his mum, but then she had told him that it was a special talent, just like how he's a Metamorphmagus, and that Lily, Frederick, and James never begrudged him that even though they themselves were not able to change their appearance. He still felt a bit of envy whenever they speak to snakes, but that's mostly because it makes him feel a bit left out.

"Alright," James looked at his mum expectantly when she started to speak. "You can have Zeta. She seems like a good pet."

"But I thought that we weren't allowed to have a pet that wasn't a cat, owl, or toad." Teddy pointed out, looking at Zeta and the rabbit-hat that Lily was holding.

"It also says that brooms aren't allowed, but in my first year I was able to have one because I was on the Gryffindor Quiddich Team. And a friend of mine had a rat." She said, "We'll just have to bend the rules a bit."

"You mean break them." Said James, grinning wickedly.

"Exactly."

Just then Frederick came bounding over. He was grinning, his blue eyes glittering like the turtle shell had been. Perching on his arm was a not yet fully grown snowy owl. Its white plumage looked silky and soft, which was perhaps why Frederick kept petting her. She looked to be enjoying it.

"I've named her Silva," Frederick said proudly, and the newly proclaimed Silva nipped his ear affectionately.

Teddy looked at his mum and saw her eyes were misty. He knew that she didn't care what kind of pet they got, but he suspected that Frederick getting a snowy owl made her very happy.

* * *

_August 17__th__ 2009_

On the suspension cables of Williamsburg Bridge perched Michael Yew. Percy Jackson and Kronos were fighting on the bridge below. Michael held notched his last arrow, and stared at the ground below him in dismay. The pavement was cracked; the road had been melted by Greek fire. The bridge had taken a beating from Kronos when he blasted his power in an effort to defeat Percy, and that combined with the exploding arrows that had volleyed down onto it had made sure that it would collapse.

Michael had urged his siblings back, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He had never considered himself that brave, and he wasn't much of a leader. He didn't inspire followers like Percy did, and he didn't make people believe like his brother Will did. Michael had honestly not wanted to take the role of leadership after his brother Lee Fletcher had died in the Battle of the Labyrinth. In fact, though Michael was older, he had looked to Will. But Will hadn't felt it was right to be cabin leader when the role had always been for the oldest, and he had told Michael privately that he hadn't felt ready for that kind of responsibility.

Michael could understand that. He hadn't felt ready for it either.

But no, Michael didn't consider himself brave. He liked to think of himself as a protector. He was constantly watching over his siblings to make sure that they were unhurt, and he always took on the hardest and most dangerous job. And wasn't that what family did for each other? Wasn't he supposed to protect his family? Michael knew for certain that his mum would give her life for him in a heartbeat, and he would do the same for her, no matter how much she hated it.

And Percy Jackson was a part of his messed up family. Poseidon was Apollo's uncle, so that made Percy Michael's cousin—at least Michael thought so; he had always gotten confused with his godly family tree. So Michael stayed where he was on the suspension cables, his arrow notched, even though his legs felt like jelly, his heart was hammering so loudly he was sure it would leap out of his chest, and his blood was singing in his ears with terror.

Even when Percy did his stupid self-sacrificing thing and screamed, "Michael, go!"

"Percy, the bridge!" Michael called back, not obeying, "It's already weak!"

The son of Poseidon stared at the bridge before and under him, not understanding what Michael was getting at. Michael almost growled; he understood why Annabeth called Percy Seaweed Brain.

"Break it!" Michael yelled. "Use your powers!"

Percy stabbed his sword into the bridge, the magic blade sank into the asphalt to the hilt, and a geyser of salt water burst from the crack. This was exactly what Michael had wanted, but what he hadn't counted on was the shaking. It seemed like a controlled earthquake to Michael, contained solely to the bridge. The Williamsburg Bridge shook and began to crumble. Huge, house-sized chunks fell into the East River. Demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backwards; some were knocked off their feet. And within a few seconds, a fifty-foot chasm opened up right between Kronos and Percy.

Michael didn't see any of this though, because as soon as the first vibration had come, he had gone. He couldn't keep his balance on the suspension cable. His arms had flailed, dropping his bow, and he had fallen towards the East River. Even as he fell his arms reached out for something that would save him; his right arm and leg hit a part of the Williamsburg Bridge that was still standing and they broke sharply—_probably in more than one place_, the back of Michael's mind registered through the pain and terror; the part of him that aspired to being a doctor.

He continued his journey to the water, and when he hit it he found it to be unforgiving. It grinded his broken bones together, making him cry out. He was already fully submerged, so as soon as he opened his mouth, water choked him. He couldn't see. The salt stung his eyes. He couldn't breathe. His vision was darkening from both asphyxiation and the pain that radiated from his right side. But somewhere in the haziness of his mind he remembered the last gift his mother had given him…

_ Michael tried to smile for his mum. He didn't want her to know that he was worried. He didn't want her to know about the war that was coming about. He didn't want her to know that this could be the last time he would see her._

_ They were standing at the camp border, saying good-bye for the summer, and Michael was having trouble not coming clean to her. He knew that he should have told her the danger that he was in—after all, she had gone through a war herself—but whenever he tried he found himself unable to utter a word. His time with his mother was his sanctuary, his reprieve, and if she knew then she might want to talk about it. She would want to help him, and that would taint everything. He wanted things to be like how they were when he was younger. He wanted to be ignorant again._

_ But he couldn't, so he let his mother. It was his gift to her._

_ "Bye mum," Michael hugged her especially hard. "I love you."_

_ "I love you too, love." If Michael didn't know better he could have sworn that there was worry in her voice, and tears in her eyes. But there couldn't be. _There would be though_, Michael thought, _if I told her I would most likely die_. She held him at arm's length, her hands set firmly on his shoulders; a comforting weight. "Now, I've got something for you."_

_ She pulled out a length of yellow ribbon, and tied it around his neck. He looked at her, completely mystified. "Mum?"_

_ "I'm no Seer," she smiled sadly, "but I had a feeling that you would be needing this."_

_ "But it's a ribbon."_

_ "If you say my name it will bring you to me from wherever you are. Use it when you are in dire need." Michael looked at his mum apprehensively, hoping that she didn't know about the second Titan war. To his relief, all he saw was sadness, no anger at him for lying to her. _

_ She hugged him again, and this time it was her that gripped harder than usual. "Come back to me."_

_ Heart in his throat, Michael managed to choke out, "Of course."_

Surrounded by water, his vision blackening, Michael said with the last remaining air in his lungs, "Adelaide Potter!" and though it was unintelligible within the water, magic obeyed. It knew, and in the next second, Michael was slamming onto the familiar wooden floor of his home, and just before he blacked out he saw a flash of red fire surrounding a pale face, and though he believed in the gods and he knew that when he died he would go to the Underworld and hopefully Elysium, he involuntarily thought in his delirium of pain, _angel_.

* * *

_2007 (Before the Battle of the Labyrinth; after Luke asks Annabeth to run away with him.)_

Luke didn't know why he was here. The last time he had been here he had been thirteen and less bitter. But with the enormity of becoming the vessel of Kronos hanging over his head, and Annabeth's rejection to run away with him, he had felt the need to seek out the place he was most happy. Now that he was here though, all he could do was stare at the door. What would he say? How would he explain what was going on without her looking at him in disappointment?

Luke scowled at his insecurity. Why did he care so much about her opinion anyway? He had known her for… what? A couple months? It shouldn't matter as much as it did. He raised his hand and knocked. It didn't take long for her to open the red door. She looked just as Luke remembered her, except smaller.

When Luke had been thirteen, Adelaide Potter had seemed so impossible big and brave. She was still brave, but now that Luke was twenty-one and nearly six foot, he found himself looking down at Adelaide. She was short and delicate looking, almost fragile. Though Luke knew that she was far stronger than she appeared, it didn't stop him from wanting to shield her from horrors. It would be a pointless task; she had already seen too much.

Adelaide looked at him quizzically, trying to think of where she knew him. Luke stayed silent, secretly hoping that he would have been memorable. After a moment more of studying his still and haggard form, Adelaide's face cleared and she looked at him with a growing smile. "Luke?"

He sagged in relief and smiled as well. To his astonishment, he felt tears come to his eyes. Adelaide immediately went to hug him, and for the first time in years, Luke allowed himself to cry. He didn't have to be strong for his makeshift family on the run; he didn't have to stay strong for siblings in a cabin which he wished he didn't belong to; he didn't have to be cruel and authoritative and _strong_ for forces of monsters and discontented demigods and malicious Titans. He let his walls down and wept into the shoulder of the one adult he had ever trusted. He allowed himself to be weak.

* * *

She had made him lunch. Tomato soup with crackers crumbled into it, a hotdog with just mustard, and some lemonade. Luke wondered how in the world she still remembered his favorite meal after all these years. He sat at the dining room table, slurping soup in between bites of his hotdog, and let Adelaide tell him all about how James, Frederick, Teddy, and Lily were. She had also introduced him to Simon and Sofia before the two had gone to play, quickly getting bored with the novelty of having a new adult in their home.

"Sofia is a daughter of Athena?" Luke asked when Adelaide told him how she had come to have both Simon and Sofia. He was once again appalled at the gods; how could they use someone like Adelaide? "I didn't know that she had kids with woman too. No one in the Athena cabin said once that they had two mothers."

"Yes, well, apparently she does," Adelaide said. Luke gave her a curious look; this was the most annoyed that he had ever heard her sound. "She didn't tell me who she was," Adel explained, "and she left Sofia on my doorstep. Didn't even have the bloody courage to face me."

Luke knew that courage meant a lot to Adelaide—she had been sorted into Gryffindor after all. "So you're not fond of Athena?" How could she be when the goddess had basically mind-raped her?

Adelaide frowned. "No," she said slowly, trying to put her feelings into words. "I'm thankful to her for giving me Sofia, but in the same way that I'm thankful to my cousin Dudley for giving me Simon. There's no warmth when I think of Athena, but I could never hate her.

"Now, tell me what you've been up to."

They moved to the living room couch, and in between sips of his lemonade Luke outlined the war going on between the Olympians and the Titans, though he didn't tell her what side he was on. He didn't tell her that he was the bad guy. Her face grew steadily darker as he spoke, and he could see the worry that lined her face prematurely.

"Luke, why are you here?"

"W-what do you mean?" He stuttered.

Adelaide grasped his hand in both of hers and smiled gently at him. Luke had never felt so transparent. "As much as I wish you had come here just for a visit, I can tell that you're here because you need something. What's wrong Luke?"

"I don't know what to do!" Luke burst out, feeling his desperation swell within him. "I'm being forced to do something and I don't want to. I made so many bad choices and there's no way to change them." His head hung low. "I'm too much of a coward to change sides and all I want to do is run away."

"Then be selfish."

Luke's neck snapped in her direction, an audible crack, his shock was tangible. "What do you mean?"

"At the Battle of Hogwarts," Adelaide started, "when I had to go face Voldemort and my death because I was a Horcrux, it was very difficult for me. More difficult then I think people realize." Her eyes had clouded over in memory, and Luke hung off her every word. "I was pregnant at the time, so not only would I be throwing my life away, but also that of my child, because I was sure that I would die.

"People think that I did the self-sacrificial move; became a martyr. They thought that I willingly walked to my death so they could live. But I would have given up their lives for the life of my child," she shook her head guiltily, "so instead I made the choice I knew I had to make; a selfish one. Did I want my child to grow up with Voldemort in the world? No. If I did not die, bringing my child with me, they would no doubt be hunted or killed at an early age. Maybe they would even become an orphan like I had. And it would be my fault; I would have condemned my child to a horrible life.

"So I convinced myself that I was doing what was best for the both of us. If Nagini was not killed or Voldemort somehow had another Horcrux out there, I would have saved both myself and my child from living under the rule of Voldemort. I made my decision selfish, and I made myself into a coward. That is how I was able to watch the Killing Curse come at me and not move, not because I was a hero or I loved so greatly that I couldn't conceive the thought of letting others die while I had the ability to stop it with my own death."

Adelaide cupped Luke's face in both hands, "Be selfish Luke. Be selfish to do what is right."

"Alright," Luke said, a new determination coming over him, "Alright, I will… mum."

Adelaide's smile was heartbreaking, as if she had seen into the future and knew that there was no happy ending. And when she hugged him, she whispered in his ear so quietly that Luke almost didn't hear her, "Wait for me in Elysium."

* * *

"Thank you."

"I did not do it for you, Lord Hermes."

"I know. He will die."

"There are always sacrifices in the end. There is always death. It is my hope that he will die in such a way that it is impossible for him _not_ to go to Elysium, so that he may have peace in death as he never had in life."

* * *

_August 18__th__ 2009_

Hermes walked through the red door without knocking. He went through the apartment like a zombie until he reached an open door to what looked like a teenager's bedroom. Odd books were scattered on a desk, a dirty clothes pile inhabited a corner, and various weapons were strewn haphazardly around the room. He saw the woman, Adelaide Potter, whom he had only visited once before. She was feeding a blond haired boy various potions, massaging his throat to make him swallow in his unconscious state, looking tired.

The boy, Michael Yew if Hermes remembered correctly, was a son of Apollo and presumed dead by his fellow campers. Hermes cleared his throat, and Adelaide looked up in surprise. "It's done."

There was no confusion on her face; she didn't need any time to think about the meaning of his words. Her face pinched and her shoulders hunched over slightly. "And… and did he… did he get Elysium?" Her voice was thin.

"Yes."

"Good… good…" She focused on Michael's blankets, fussing over them unnecessarily. "Can you—" She broke off and cleared her throat. "Can you tell Apollo that… that Michael will be alright?"

"I will." He could not bring himself to comfort her. He was barely holding himself together as it was.

"Thank you."

"Do not thank me. Please."


	8. The Cats Are Out of the Bag

The Aftermath

Chapter 8

The Cats Are Out of the Bag

_August 21__th__ 2009_

William Solace sat on his bed. His knees were drawn up tight to his torso, his arms wrapped around them, and he stared unblinkingly at the bunk opposite his. It was the same way Michael had left it, as Will and his siblings hadn't wanted to disturb anything. It was a typical teenage boy's bunk, with semi-dirty clothes and magazines scattered around, a sock or two hiding under the bed and making friends with the dust bunnies. It was also different though; on the oak nightstand beside the bed there was what appeared to be a jewelry box that Will knew contained letters from Michael's mother and siblings, and a well-loved and often-played violin was propped up against the nightstand. The case was lying on the floor close by, overflowing from sheets of music.

The Apollo cabin had named Will the new councillor, and so far he had been doing okay. Will was actually surprised with how natural leading came to him, but he supposed that was what Michael had seen when he tried to decline the job. Michael had always been Will's favorite sibling, though he had never said so. Will could remember fighting in the Battle of the Labyrinth; he had been going against a pretty skilled _dracaena_ and was sure that he had been about to die, but then Michael came and blocked the sword blow that would have beheaded Will, grunting with effort, and given Will an opening to stab the monster in the gut, thus turning it to yellow dust. The Michael had just nodded and went off to kill something else, leaving Will reeling with the sheer nonchalance of the action.

It still amazed Will that it had been _Michael_ to save him. For one, Michael hated swords. If there was ever a chance to go for his bow or even a dagger, Michael would jump at it—admittedly, this might be because Michael sucked with swords compared to the other campers, but that just made it even more unbelievable, considering that Michael was fighting with a _sword_. Second, Michael was short. Will, who was a year younger than Michael, could look down at him. Will vaguely remembered Michael's mum and thought that he might get his shortness from her. So for Michael to go against this total giant of a dragon-lady was crazy.

Then of course at the end of the battle Michael was healing everyone around him—he himself having a bandage wrapped around his head that was stained red—while Will could only watch, because he was being ordered to lay down before he pulled the stiches on his abdomen. That was when Will learned just how much of a badass his brother was, despite his short stature.

It had only been three days since Will had watched his brother fall to his death, and as cabin leader it fell to him to pack up Michael's belongings and mail them to his mum, but though Will had dressed and made his own bed and watched his own siblings go for breakfast he had not been able to touch his big brothers stuff. Will knew that his siblings hadn't meant to be insensitive, making him do this on his own, because they all cared for Michael and had welcomed him into their cabin right away—it might have been because Michael's mum had given them all really helpful gifts—but Michael had been _Will's_ brother. They had connected in a way that was rare for demigod siblings—what with them dying all the time and the awkwardness that their dad had been with both their mums, it was hard to feel like normal siblings.

Will hadn't cried yet. Maybe that was why his siblings thought that he was doing alright—they had all cried, gotten their eyes red and puffy, their noses snotty and blown, and then moved on with their lives in a startlingly short amount of time. But Will hadn't cried, not once. It wasn't because he didn't care, or that he had made peace with Michael's death—they couldn't even find his body for Hades sake!—it was because Will was still suspended in a state of disbelief. He couldn't fully let himself believe that Michael was dead. He felt like he was stuck in purgatory, or the Fields of Asphodel: nothing was final; concrete. He felt unjudged and frozen.

He felt like he was waiting for something.

The first time Will had finally put his finger on this feeling—that he was waiting for something to happen—he had latched onto it like a drunk on aged whiskey. He was a son of Apollo right? And Apollo was the god of prophecies and oracles, so it was possible that Will was getting a feeling about the future! Granted, he had never had any sign that he could see the future, but that did _not_ discount the idea…. It just made it very unlikely.

Lunch was approaching, but Will didn't move. He found he couldn't, like he had been turned to marble and was forever charged with watching Michael's empty bunk. Eternal vigil for someone who wasn't coming back. _Oh gods_, Will thought,_ I'm going to have to watch someone take his bunk_.

Will was so distressed by this thought that he barely heard the commotion outside. And the small part of his brain that registered the happy laughs and the shouts of delighted disbelief didn't much care. Not when Michael had just died. In fact, that small part of his brain was uncommonly angry that his fellow campers were not as devastated as him with the death of Michael. Was it because Michael had never gotten big quests like Percy Jackson and saved the world countless times? Because Michael didn't have the freaky smarts like Annabeth Chase and the architecture obsession? (Yes, Will knew about her architecture fanaticism—she would talk to it with anybody who would listen and those that wouldn't. Will was the latter.) Was it that Michael didn't have any special power and wasn't an attention hog?

_What was it about Apollo kids that make us seem only good for archery and healing?_ Will wondered dismally, and he had never had such pessimistic thoughts before—he was the most carefree of his siblings, which was a feat, as they were all morning people. _Why are we always in the background?_

The door to the Apollo cabin opened, and Will had a sense of déjà vu when he saw the red headed woman he remembered to be Michael's mum. Will was horror stuck, mouth gaping open and eyes widening. Would he have to break the news that her son is dead to the kind lady who had asked him to play his guitar and given him a magical quiver?

Mrs. Potter looked the same as she had when Will had first seen her three years ago. A little more tired perhaps, and with a few more stress lines, but her hair and eyes were just as striking and her smile just as gentle. Then Will saw who was walking behind her with a slight limp, one arm in a sling. He was wearing plain blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt, along with his ever-present pair of Converse. His dirty blond hair was a mess, as if it had been through a battle with the comb and won. His face—that seemed to be perpetually screwed up in concentration that all the non-Apollo campers thought was from spending too much time looking down the shaft of an arrow, but was really from playing his violin—seemed to be shining with happiness, and he was munching on a small square of ambrosia.

The second Will saw his supposed-dead brother, Michael Yew, he burst into tears.

Michael looked a bit startled and obviously didn't know what to do, because like any self-respecting teenage boy he wasn't the best with emotions, but luckily Mrs. Potter, being a mother, was more experienced in these types of situations.

She immediately went over to Will, sat on the bed with him, and gave him a tight hug. The kind of hug mums give their kids to assure them that they are safe and secure and everything was going to be alright. Will, who hadn't been hugged like that since he was ten, before his own mum had overdosed on prescription sleeping pills and stolen pain medication, buried his head into Mrs. Potter's shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist. He was faintly embarrassed that he was reacting like this, but then a new and painful sob tore from him and he felt slim fingers carding through his hair and there were soothing noises in his ear, so he pushed that to the side.

At some point Michael started playing his violin, probably wanting something to do other than stand there awkwardly, and knowing that Will had always enjoyed his playing.

That was what Will fell asleep to.

* * *

Adelaide laid Will down and stared at his red-rimmed eyes, wet cheeks, and peaceful face. Looking up at Michael, whose eyes hadn't strayed from Will even as he continued to play his music blindly, Adelaide marvelled at that kind of talent. Though she was good on the piano—good enough to teach all of her children—she always had to be completely focussed. She supposed that it had something to do with his father being the god of music, but she knew that he had to work hard to acquire the amount of skill he had on his violin.

"Michael."

His eyes flicked towards her questioningly.

She pointed towards the door, and he sighed in resignation. Adel stood up and went over to Michael, kissing him on the forehead. (She was always secretly pleased that he didn't make faces or complain that he was too old for that kind of treatment, as she had seen other children his age doing at his school to their own parents. She also liked to think that she and Michael had a special relationship, because she had to earn his trust and love—she'll never forget the first time he called her mum; she knew that if she ever needed to produce a Patronus that was the new feeling she would use.)

"Bye mum," Michael whispered, still playing his violin.

"Bye love. I'll pick you up the last day of August so you can see off Lily, Teddy, James, and Frederick." He seemed to perk up after that, and the tune he was playing became more cheerful.

Adelaide stepped out of the golden Apollo cabin, took a deep breath of warmed-strawberry air, and set out at a leisurely pace back to the camp border. She looked around and saw a cabin with a grass roof, one that looks like a factory, and an ostentatious marble one with lightning bolts carves into the sides. _Must be Zeus'_, Adel thought. In front of a silver cabin there were girls, looking to either be in their pre-teens or early teens in silver parkas milling about. Adelaide was unsure, but she thought that these must be the hunters of Artemis.

She didn't have time to contemplate anymore on the subject because just then, coming out of the cabin was a black haired girl wearing a tiara and black combat boots with electric blue eyes, was someone very familiar that Adel had been sure she would never see again. "Thalia?"

The girl in the tiara looked in her direction and her eyes widened comically in surprise. "Adelaide? What are you doing here?"

"I came to drop my son off," Adel smiled, and couldn't help but go right up to Thalia and give her a hug. They had never been as close as Adelaide and Luke, mostly because Thalia had tried to rebel any authority besides her own and like a typical teenager had thought that the world had revolved around her and that she could do no wrong. Thalia wanted to be tough, and she didn't feel that she really needed another mother when her last one had failed her so horribly. They definitely had their bonding moments, but it had never lasted long.

With Luke, he had been craving parental affection, so they had responded well to each other, Adelaide being so willing to give it.

"What have you been doing?" Adel asked. "I haven't seen you for years, and when I last saw Luke I didn't get a chance to ask how you were."

"Luke _visited_ you?!"

They had a lot of catching up to do.

_September 1__st__ 2009_

The autumn air was crisp, but the sun was pounding down hotly so it felt like the perfect temperature outside. George thought it was the best kind of weather to be seeing he niece and nephews off to Hogwarts. He stared at the scarlet train wistfully, and held the bundle in his arms more securely. A lot had changed for George in the last few months; on May 12th, his wife had given birth to his twin sons, Alexander and Stephan—Alessa had wanted to name them Alexandros and Stephanos, but even George knew that was cruel, and had put a stop to it. (And really, did it make sense to name their mortal sons Greek names but for Travis and Connor, the two demigods, to get normal ones? George hadn't understood it.)

They made a large group, with both George and Alessa holding an infant, Connor and Travis talking to Michael—who they were still a bit clingy to, thinking that the son of Apollo was dead for three days—Adelaide holding the hands of Simon and Sofia, and of course, the four eleven year olds off to Hogwarts for the year: James, Frederick, Teddy, and Lily. Other families would glance at them curiously, but their attention was fleeting. George had no doubt that if they had any clue that Adelaide Potter was there they would be swarming for autographs or handshakes or even just wanting to touch their saviour. But they had no idea, because why would the Woman-Who-Conquered wear a headscarf and sunglasses, as well as muggle clothing?

Plus, why would Adelaide Potter be seeing off four first year Hogwarts students? She doesn't have any children… that they know of. (Teddy, the half-werewolf Metamorphmagus would be conveniently forgotten.)

George looked down at Alec, who he was holding while Alessa held Stephan. He had Alessa's curly brown hair, George's blue eyes, and looked identical to his brother. George had been ecstatic when he found out they were identical twins, thinking about all the mischief they could get into, what he could teach them. Travis and Connor had been happy as well—probably thinking the exact same thing.

Alessa leaned her head against his shoulder, yawning. "Tired?" He asked.

She gave him a look, "Well I _was_ the one to hear the twins crying last night."

He grinned, "Not my fault I only have one good ear."

She snorted.

Stephan snuffled, which was usually a prelude to crying. Alessa rocked him a bit, and when he made no other complaints, George turned back to Adel seeing off her children off. Adel hugged Lily, who looked like she had a death grip around her waist. Next were James and Frederick, who hugged her together and whispered something to Adel that made her laugh. When it came to Teddy, George saw Adelaide hand him a bit of old parchment that looked familiar, but George didn't recognize it until James and Frederick saw it and James said, "Aw, no fair! Why does Ted get the Map? I thought dad and Uncle George gave it to you, doesn't that mean we get it?"

Adel gave him a look of light reprimand, "Teddy's father is Moony, and therefore he has more claim to it."

"But granddad was Prongs," Frederick pointed out.

"There you go then," Lily cut in. George had to repress a smile; Lily had always been her mother's biggest supporter.

"Huh?" James and Frederick asked, and even Teddy was looking a little dumbfounded. Adel just looked at her daughter proudly.

"Teddy's dad was a Marauder, and our _grand_dad was. Teddy's more closely related to an original Marauder than we are." Lily hooked her arm through Teddy's in a show of support, and looked to her mum for confirmation. When Adel nodded, Lily smiled and went on, "Besides, it's not as if Teddy won't share with us."

Teddy nodded fast, his hair turning a bit purple, and said, "Of course we're going to share the Map, we share everything else." James looked a bit abashed and Frederick smiled—probably thinking of all the mischief the four of them were going to get into.

Adelaide sighed, "I hope you're all in the same House. I can't imagine the four of you being separated."

"Don't worry mum," Frederick assured, "we've already got that planned."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Frederick nodded, "Teddy will get Sorted first and we'll just ask the Hat to put us in with him. Easy; and you said that the Hat let you choose Gryffindor over Slytherin, so why wouldn't that work with us?"

George gasped melodramatically, "What is this blasphemy I hear? Our very own Gryffindor Golden Girl, almost sorted with the evil, slimy snakes of Slytherin? What has the world come to?"

James looked at his uncle disapprovingly, "Snakes are not slimy, and just because some bad people have come from Slytherin doesn't mean that the House is bad or the people in the House are all evil in general. That's stereotyping."

George spluttered, and when he looked over to Adel for help he saw that she had a hand covering her mouth and that her eyes were crinkled around the edges: a sure sign that she was smiling. He was confused for only a moment, but then remembered that James' full name was James _Sirius_. Adel must think it hilarious that the son she named after her godfather, a most avid Slytherin hater, is the first to come to their defense. It made George's own lips twitch, and he had a hard time keeping a grin off his face while saying in a grave voice, "I apologize; thank you for setting me straight James."

Adel composed herself, and pushed Sofia and Simon in front of her to say goodbye to their brothers and sister until Christmas. George leaned over to her while watching the four eleven year olds assure their younger siblings that they weren't going to forget about them, "You told them about how they're going to be Sorted?"

"Yes. It's cruel to put children in such a high anxiety situation; I have no fond memories about my Sorting, just relief that it was over. I want them to enjoy it as much as they can."

George just hummed, and wondered if she could count the happy memories she had from her time at Hogwarts on one hand. He did not blame her for not wanting to go back and do her seventh year in the aftermath of Voldemort's defeat, ignoring the fact that she had had four infants to take care of when classes would have been going on. He changed the subject. "I saw the journals that you gave them. Mind telling me their inspiration?"

Adelaide smirked, her eyes having a wicked sparkle to them that rarely surfaced, "You remember Ginny's diary from her first year?"

George cackled.

* * *

Teddy sighed as he stared out the window that he and his siblings had commandeered. He watched as his mum picked up his little brother Simon, who had always been more sensitive and was crying with his arms encircling his mum's neck and his short legs wrapped around her waist. Little Sofia had her face pressed against her mum's skirt, and her small shoulders were shaking slightly. Teddy heard an echoing sigh and turned to James, who looked forlorn.

"I'm goin' to miss mum," James announced when the train pulled out of the station and away from the rest of their family, "and Simon's goin' to be upset for weeks. He'll only have Sofia for company, with Michael goin' off to hang out with Travis and Connor."

It was not so surprising that James would be worried about Simon, as he had always loved leading their younger brother around and playing games with him—it was one of the few times that James ever acted mature. Simon _would_ be inconsolable for weeks without his big brother.

"Don't worry so much Jay," Frederick said to his twin, "just make it up to him when we see him at Christmas by spending a bunch of time with him." _Typical_, Teddy thought with a bit of amusement. Frederick had always been the one with the simple answers. Everything to Frederick seemed so obvious; while other people would go over a decision or thought laboriously, Frederick would come up with an opinion or solution in an instant, and that would be that. It was good for James, as his emotions tended to be more erratic and dangerously deep—Frederick leveled him out, while James helped Frederick be a more spontaneous.

James sighed again, but this time it was more relaxed. "Thanks Sev." That was a recent development: calling Frederick by a shortened part of his middle name. The four of them had decided that 'Frederick' was too long, but hadn't wanted to call him Fred—they didn't want to see how their mum would react—and definitely hadn't wanted to call him Rick, because… yuck. Teddy figured that their mum had been eavesdropping—which wasn't hard considering they were having the conversation in the living room while she was in the kitchen, easily within hearing distance—because the next morning she was calling Frederick 'Sev' and even had Sofia and Simon in on it. It had stuck.

"I'm more worried about Sofia," Lily said, biting her bottom lip and petting her rabbit-hat-thing that she had named Roger compulsively. "Not having any female influence! What will happen to her while I'm gone?"

Teddy cleared his throat, making all three of them look at him. He smiled a bit awkwardly, "Won't Sofia have mum? Mum's a female influence."

Frederick and James immediately played outraged. "Are you accusing our mum—"

"—of being a man?!"

"And would that mean—"

"—that our dad was a woman—"

"—and that we are too?"

"Have we been lied to all our lives?!"

Teddy decided to play along. "And if mum is a man Lily, wouldn't that mean that you are too? And if that's true, how would you be a female influence?"

"Alright! Alright!" Lily cried, red in the face, "I get it! Sofia will be fine!" She sounded annoyed, but there was a slight smile on her face, and her previously tense shoulders had eased. "When are we going to visit Kreacher in the kitchens like mum told us to?"

The twins shrugged in unison. "On the weekend?"

Lily nodded. "That's smart. We don't want our visit to interfere with classes. What about Professor Neville? When will we meet him?" Her face was unsure, and the boys' reflected that.

"I dunno…" Teddy said slowly. They had never met this Neville Longbottom, but their mum had said that he was a good friend that she had had a falling out with after the Battle of Hogwarts. She said that he would be glad to meet them, but all Teddy wanted to know was if their falling out had been the same as it was with their Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, Aunt Ginny, and Grandma Molly—whom they had never met. Granted, Teddy didn't know what had caused _their_ 'falling out', but he knew that it hurt his mum so it made him unhappy.

"After Herbology," Frederick said. Teddy, Lily, and James all gave him startled and confused looks, so he explained, "That's the class he teaches isn't it? So we'll just introduce ourselves after class." He shrugged, as if it was simple. _And it is,_ Teddy thought to himself, _Jay and Lily and I just always have to complicate things. Thank the gods we have Sev to set us straight._

"Okay!" James clapped his hands, evidently done with Serious Talking, "When d'you suppose the trolley will come around with the sweets?"

"We also have to visit Hagrid," Lily reminded them, and all three boys groaned at the thought of having to eat the rock cakes their mother told horror stories about.

* * *

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall looked down at the first years that were being led in by the new Transfiguration teacher. To be honest, she missed that part of her job: going to collect the first years from Hagrid and seeing their nervous and innocent faces, daunted by the strict and lecturing teacher in front of them. It had made her heart grow warm. (Also, when certain ones became troublesome or decided to try their hand at pranking, the remembrance of their anxious eleven year old faces was sometimes the only thing that stopped her from wringing their scrawny little necks.)

Now that she was Headmistress though—and she did love being able to make changes to the school, like cutting the Divination class and making Muggle Studies mandatory to purebloods and half-bloods who grew up in the wizarding world—she had decided to let that duty go to one of the staff.

Still, Minerva thought as she listened to the students names being called, it was almost as satisfying to be able to watch their Sorting's from her throne-like chair at the staff table. Most of the students were muggleborns or half-bloods who had a parent who lived fully in the muggle world, which was unsurprising and had been like that for years due to the war. Though there was one name in particular she was listening for that was a boy born of a witch and a wizard. Minerva hoped that Adelaide hadn't decided to send him to a different school, or homeschool him. What a tragedy that would be! Hogwarts, not have Teddy Lupin in her halls; not learning in her classrooms! Why, Remus and Nymphadora Lupin would roll in their graves—particularly Remus; he had always cherished the memories Hogwarts had given him, as a student and a teacher.

"Lupin, Theodore," was called, and Minerva was relieved, but also berating herself: of course Adelaide would send her godson to his parents' school! Where was her faith in her? (_Maybe_, a tiny and snide voice commented in her mind, _it left when she did?_ Minerva banished that thought immediately; she only missed Adelaide and wished that both of them had kept in touch with each other. She mustn't allow herself to get bitter about things that were half her fault.)

Minerva looked down at the child of two of her students curiously. His hair was pink like his mother liked to keep hers, but he kept his face looking just like his father's looked when he was a boy. And his eyes… Minerva gasped, and heard Neville Longbottom, who was seated next to her, draw in a startled breath. They glanced at each other before turning back, both thinking the same thing.

Those were Adelaide's eyes. Their green was clear and bright, shining and emerald.

The Hat was placed on his head, and barely a minute later the Hat announced, "_Hufflepuff!_" and his robes turned yellow and black. The Hufflepuff table cheered, and Teddy's hair turned red as he went to go sit with his new Housemates. That just caused them to cheer louder—which made his hair turn crimson.

Minerva chuckled, and turned to Neville, "I had wondered if he would be in the House of his mother or his father. I confess myself a bit disappointed that he was not in my old House, but you should be glad: if he gets into half as much trouble as both his parents did, his Head of House will be run ragged."

Neville nodded, looking a bit relieved, "I already have my hands full with the regular recklessness that's thought to be courage, and I don't need pranks." He looked as if he had just had a sudden revelation and looked infinitely more grateful.

"What?" Minerva asked.

"He was also raised by Adel."

Minerva winced at the thought, feeling pity for the Hufflepuff Head, but still chuckled at the misfortune.

"Potter, Frederick."

As soon as they heard the name, Minerva and Neville turned back to the Sorting with a snap of their necks that they barely noticed. A boy looking remarkably like Fred and George Weasely but with Adelaide's darker toned red hair walked up and put the Hat on.

"But I thought that George…"

"He is," Neville answered without further prompting. "He got married to his wife Alessa in Vegas. His mother was furious. He's also got twin boys."

"_Hufflepuff!_" The Hat announced, and once more applause rang out, this time a little stunned.

"Potter, James."

A boy identical to the last came up to be Sorted.

"What is going on?!" Minerva hissed out of the corner of her mouth. All Neville could do was shake his head mutely.

"_Hufflepuff!_"

"Potter, Lily."

Minerva and Neville traded alarmed glances when the little girl with black hair and _green green_ eyes walked forward.

"_Hufflepuff!_"

The Sorting ended, Minerva made her short speech, and the feast began. She was still stunned. And confused. From the look on Neville's face, he felt the same way.

Neville chuckled weakly, "Gotta feel for that Hufflepuff Head, huh?"

_September 4__th__ 2009_

Neville Longbottom didn't have many regrets in life. When he looks back on his time as a student at Hogwarts, he knows that he was a kind but timid child with low self-esteem. His gran had been too overbearing for him; she pushed him so hard to be like a father he never truly knew that Neville collapsed into himself with his feelings of inadequacy. But instead of allowing himself to get bitter, he tried to be nice to everyone he met, and his best friends were his plants. Then Voldemort had returned, and there were so many chances for him to show that he really was meant to be in Gryffindor.

He had risen to the challenge, and in the end he stood up to Voldemort. He had killed Nagini.

So no, Neville didn't have many regrets in life. He knew that he was a good person. But all of the regrets that he did have seemed to revolve around one Adelaide Potter.

From the very beginning when he had met her on the train before first year had even started, she had been probably the best friend one could ask for. He had gone into the compartment she was sharing with Ron, asking if either of them had seen his toad Trevor, and she had offered to help him look right away. He hadn't really looked at her as they left Ron in the compartment and Hermione asked them in the bossy and intimidating tone she had back then if they had found Trevor, but thinking back on it she had looked sick.

Her skin was pale, as if she didn't see much sun. She had black smudges underneath her eyes that announced she hadn't had much sleep the night before. She was thin as a rake and short in stature—shorter than him, and Neville hadn't been that tall back in first year. And her eyes had held the same hopeful shine to them as his; the look of someone lonely, just wanting a friend. Neville knows—just _knows_; it's a gut feeling—that Adelaide had seen something of a kindred spirit in him. Back then though, he hadn't thought twice about these things, and he was too shy to properly put himself out there and acquire friends.

He should have asked her if she was feeling alright—he doesn't blame himself much on this though, because eleven year old children never think once that a classmate of theirs is being maltreated at home; is being almost-starved and being worked to the bone with chores.

He should have _stuck to her like glue_ and been the best friend he could to her—he does blame himself for this, because he suspected that this is why she offered to help him find his toad; she was trying to see if he would be a friend to her. (And though Neville is good friends with Ron—he kind of has to be, what with Neville being married to his sister—he knows that he would have been better for Adelaide, friend wise. Ron had no tact, had a tendency to hurt peoples' feelings without even trying, and—back then—liked to complain about his lot in life way too much. Adelaide hadn't needed someone to drag her down like that; she needed someone to listen to her, not talk at her like Ron and even Hermione did. Neville wished he had seen that he was the perfect person for that. They could have been best friends; brother and sister.)

There were a bunch of other little things, like talking to her more, seeing if she was sleeping, helping her with her Herbology homework—she helped him with Defense enough times that he should have thought to offer, but he had been a stupid oblivious boy who was just relieved he wasn't going to fail the class that his gran wanted him to focus on the most, as you need it to become an Auror. The biggest thing that Neville regretted about his life was that he hadn't stayed in touch with Adelaide when she moved—he didn't even know where; for all he knew she was in Africa helping out starving children.

He should have clung to her after the Battle of Hogwarts, made sure that she wasn't wallowing in the grief he remembered in her eyes. When people had started celebrating, Neville remembered how she looked at them in horror before George had whisked her away. That was the last time Neville had seen her. She hadn't even attended the Death Eater trials—though she did send George with her signature on a letter stating that she was a witness to Draco Malfoy helping the Light side, and that if not for Narcissa Malfoy she would have been dead. She asked for them to be pardoned, and they were. (Neville had made a point to go to all of the trials, as he wanted to see this whole mess to the end, and he will never forget the pure shock on Draco Malfoy's face when his schoolyard enemy got him out of prison. He will never forget Narcissa Malfoy's tears.)

Now Neville Longbottom regreted not knowing her children.

He had just had his first Herbology lesson with the first year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, and he hadn't been able to look away from the four children that Adelaide had raised for more than five minutes at a time. He had just dismissed his class and was cleaning up when he noticed the four children that had been on his mind since the opening feast had stayed back and were now standing awkwardly a bit away from him. They were covered in soil, and the twin boys kept trying to rub dirt on the others face. Teddy and Lily had their pinky's linked, and Lily was bouncing on the balls of her feet anxiously while Teddy was staring at his free had with a look of distain for the dirt.

Neville cleared his throat, "Yes? Can I help you?" Truthfully, he was glad that they had come up to him instead of him having to initiate an interaction. How was one supposed to go up to the children of an old friend and ask them how their mother is, because you were too busy getting your Herbology Masters and being happy to keep in contact? Oh, and ask who their father is. Awkward.

"Yes Professor Neville," it was Lily who spoke, and Neville was startled enough by what she called him that he felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. She looked at her brothers for help, and one of the twins stepped forward, swatting his brother's hands away from his face.

"Mum said that she and you were old school friends and she wanted us to meet you. I'm Frederick Severus Potter—"

His twin cut in, "—but you can call him Sev—"

"—everyone does—"

"—and I'm James Sirius Potter—"

"—but you can call him Jay—"

"—_almost_ everyone does."

Neville was having flashbacks to the Weasely twins, always trying to confuse people. He hadn't realised how much he had missed it, just as he had forgotten how annoying it could be.

"I'm Lily Nymphadora Potter," the black haired girl said with a hesitant smile.

"And I'm Teddy Remus Lupin."

"_Nooo~_" one twin—Neville thought that it was James—sang.

"It's _Theodore_." The other said.

"Right _Theodore_?" They asked together.

Teddy's hair turned a dark red and his eyes became an emerald green. His skin became a milky pale and his features became a little more delicate. Then he put a stern expression on and said in a firm tone, "James and Frederick Potter, do not tease your brother on his name. It is a family name, just as yours are and you are to respect that." His voice was even a little higher than normal, though that wasn't due to his Metamorphmagus talent and more attributed to practice.

The twins had identical looks of horror plastered on their faces, a bit of the feeling genuine, while Lily was giggling. Neville had no trouble believing that these children had grown up together.

"Don't _do_ that!"

"It's _freaky_!"

"Downright _scary_!"

"You sound _just_ like mum!"

"We feel like we're about to be told to read a whole potions book and take notes!"

"Then what are you not supposed to do…?" Teddy asked, still looking a bit like Adelaide.

"Not make fun of your name." The twins intoned glumly.

One said under their breath, "_Theodore_," but Teddy pretended not to notice.

"Er…." Neville said, feeling as if he was interrupting something, "Who's you're dad?" They looked like George, but Neville was sure that he would have known if George had any other children besides Alexander and Stephen, so that meant….

Lily looked sad, and even the twins weren't joking around when she answered, "Fred Weasely."

Neville was going to have to take a trip to the Burrow this weekend.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, but I had a lot of stress happening (such as almost failing all of my classes in school, which I managed to pass with about 50 to 52% on everything. YAY!) This is actually only a cut of the chapter I had in mind, but it was getting super long, and it would have taken me way longer to write. So I've decided to stop here and write a completely new chapter for you instead! (It could take a while. Sorry.)  
Now, I had a major epiphany today and I feel super smart! Here it is: I had always thought that Travis and Connor were surprisingly tame for a demigod name, considering Castor, Pollox, Perseus, etcetera. Right? It didn't really show off their demigodishness, but then I dismissed it because their last name is Stoll (like stole; Hermes is a thief so it's funny, ha ha) but today, I looked at Connor's name and I was just like: "Hey, if you shortened his name to Con its like he's a con artist, and didn't Hermes con Apollo with that whole cattle-lyre business?" Then I looked at Travis' name, absolutely determined to find the hidden meaning in it, and I was triumphant! Hermes is the god of travellers, right? Well, ****_Trav_****is' name starts with ****_trav_****! Like ****_TRAVellers_****! Voila; the connection! I am BRILLIANT! *bows* Thank you; hold the applause. :)**


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